UN investigating possible war crimes in Congo
Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS — U.N. officials have opened investigations into whether war crimes have been committed in eastern Congo, saying they have alarming evidence of targeted killings and possibly massacres of civilians.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon raised the possibility of war crimes and crimes against humanity in a report Wednesday to the Security Council that recommends U.N. peacekeepers who make up the world's largest such contingent should remain in Congo through 2009.
Congolese people displaced by fighting carry bags of blankets distributed by aid workers at the stadium in the rebel held town of Rutshuru, eastern Congo, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008. Nearly 100,000 people massed in the rebel-held town in eastern Congo Wednesday to receive the largest distribution of aid since fighting intensified in the region last month. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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"The forced displacement of populations and evidence of the targeted killings of civilians are alarming. In the current climate, the possibility of massacres of civilians cannot be ruled out," he said in the report.
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