In recent days, Agence France Presse (AFP) has broadcast the most damning testimonies on the massacre of civilians in the province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The least that can be said is that the authors of this barbarism had nothing to do with the pleas of their victims. Whether it was those poor souls who had taken refuge in the Adventist Church of Kishishe, thinking that their prayers would soften the hearts of their executioners or those who desperately tried to hide in the city, no one was spared. In any case, according to the report established by the UN, on November 21 and 30, 2022, at least 170 civilians were sent ad patres and in atrocious conditions. This tragedy in Kishishe is reminiscent of that of Boutcha in Ukraine in 2022. Indeed, nearly 410 civilian bodies had been found in this martyred city which has in the meantime been occupied by Russian forces.

It is important that the truth be told for justice to be done

Even if the horror was not experienced in the same proportions, in both cases, in the face of such ignominy, the circumstances of the Kishishe tragedy must be clarified and the perpetrators punished to match their crimes. In the case of North Kivu, more specifically, it is important that the truth be told so that justice can be done for the victims. This presupposes an independent investigation, which is not always easy in a failing state like that of the Democratic Republic of Congo. But already, we must welcome the departure of the M23 rebels from the town of Kishishe. Because, if they were still there, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to document these crimes and give the victims a chance of justice. Because, it is precisely by lifting the slabs of horror following the departure of the rebels, that these corpses were discovered. For the rest, it is up to the Congolese President, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, and all those interested in building peace in the DRC, to be committed to truth and justice.

michel nana