Government addresses massacre footage

The DRC Government is under pressure to stem violence after the emergence of a video purporting to show soldiers massacring unarmed civilians. 'It is up to the authorities at all levels, provincial and national, to find a solution,' said Ibrahim Ikulu, a legislator from the ruling majority bloc. A BusinessLIVE report notes that a seven-minute video shows between 50 and 100 people killed in clashes between government forces and supporters of a slain tribal chief in the southern Kasai-Central region. Although government spokesperson Lambert Mende condemned the video as a 'ridiculous montage ... worthy of scenes from a Rambo movie', a later statement noted possible 'excesses and abuse' by soldiers, two of whom it said were already on trial for unspecified charges.