Anti-UN attacks in DR Congo may be 'war crimes'

The UN secretary general's office has said any attacks on peacekeepers may constitute a war crime after two UN bases were assaulted in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

A spokesman said António Guterres had called on the Congolese authorities to investigate the incidents, in which three UN personnel and a dozen locals were killed.

The peacekeeping mission - Monusco - blamed the violence and looting of UN property on criminals pretending to be protesters.

It said they had seized weapons from Congolese police and opened fire.

There's widespread anger in Congo at Monusco's failure to halt decades of violence by armed groups operating in the mineral-rich east.

This article originally appeared in BBC News

Photo: AFP