UN vows justice for 21 people hacked to death, mutilated in Congo

KINSHASA, Congo – Martin Kobler, the special representative of the United Nations in Congo, said the massacre of 21 people in the Beni area will "not go unpunished." The victims, including women and children, were found hacked to death and some were mutilated.

The 21 remains were found in the villages of Musuku and Mwenda, in the eastern territory of Beni, an area that has been infested by armed groups for years. Kobler said they were killed by unknown assailants between Dec. 13 and 14.

He said at least three juvenile girls were raped, before being decapitated. The dismembered body of a child was found in a tree.

Kobler said the "authors of these crimes will not be allowed to rest until they answers for what they did before the justice system."