Bodies found of two UN experts in DRCongo amid spiralling violence

Kinshasa (AFP) - Two foreign UN experts who were kidnapped in DR Congo have been found dead, one of them decapitated, the government said Tuesday, as spiralling violence in the vast country sparked international condemnation.

The bodies of the two -- American Michael Sharp and Swedish national Zahida Catalan -- were found as the UN Security Council prepares to vote on Wednesday on extending its peacekeeping mission in the country.

"The provincial police commissioner has just returned from the area where the bodies of two UN researchers were found," government spokesman Lambert Mende told AFP.

The two were kidnapped by unidentified assailants on March 12 along with four Congolese accompanying them in Kasai-Central province.

Mende said the woman's body had been decapitated.

The remote region has been plagued by violence since mid-August, when government forces killed Kamwina Nsapu, a tribal chief and militia leader who had rebelled against President Joseph Kabila's central government.

The violence has spilled over from Kasai to the neighbouring provinces of Kasai-Oriental and Lomami, leaving at least 400 people dead.

Several days before the two UN experts were kidnapped, a Uruguayan peacekeeper was shot and injured in the same region.

Sharp's father, John Sharp, reacted to the news on his Facebook page.

"We have been informed that two Caucasian bodies have been found in shallow graves in the search area, one male and one female.

"Since no other Caucasians have been reported missing in that region, there is a high probability that these are the bodies of MJ and Zaida. Dental records and DNA samples will be used to confirm the identities. This will take some time."

There was no immediate reaction from MONUSCO to the news.

On Monday, Congolese national police accused rebels of massacring 39 of their officers in Kasai.

The victims were killed in an "ambush" early Friday as they were travelling in trucks, and buried in a mass grave by supporters of late militia leader Kamwina Nsapu, a police spokesman said.

'Grave concern'

The UN, EU and African Union on Tuesday expressed "grave concern" over the spiralling violence in Kasai.

DR Congo

The organisations "condemn this despicable act and express their condolences to the families of the victims," they said.

They called for an "urgent response from the country's political leaders" to curb the violence and "urge the defence and security forces to exercise restraint in the efforts to restore order in the Kasai."

The latest violence comes ahead of a UN Security Council vote on Wednesday on extending its mission in the DR Congo, known by its acronym MONUSCO -- the largest and costliest UN peacekeeping mission in the world.

The United Nations has 19,000 soldiers, police and military observers deployed in the mission, costing $1.2 billion annually.

About 100 of those troops were recently dispatched to the Kasai region.

France warned last week that drastic cuts to the mission would be tantamount to "playing with fire" as the country faces election turmoil.

France has circulated a draft resolution to renew the mandate of the peacekeeping mission, but is facing scrutiny from the United States which is seeking cuts to UN peace operations.

The influential Catholic Church brokered a deal in late December to pave the way for elections by the end of 2017, but the agreement has been bogged down in disputes over the appointment of a new prime minister.

Elections would bring an end to the rule of Kabila, in power since 2001.

The Catholic Church and the electoral commission said earlier this month that the growing unrest in Kasai threatens to derail voter registration.

Police reinforcement meanwhile were sent to strategic points in the capital Kinshasa on Tuesday after clashes between demonstrators and officers in several districts, where tyres were burned and roads blocked.