Two arrested in Congo over killing of U.N. monitors

April 15 (UPI) -- Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo said two men were arrested in connection with the killing of two United Nations workers last month, though one of the suspects has escaped custody.

Speaking in the capital Kinshasa, Gen. Joseph Ponde Isambwa said the men were arrested in connection with the death of American Michael Sharp and Swede Zaida Catalan, two veteran U.N. monitors who were investigating possible human rights abuses amid the ongoing violence between government forces and local tribal militias in the central Kasai province.

Recently the top prosecutor at the Hague said it's possible the level of violence against civilians could represent war crimes.

The pair went missing March 12 and their bodies, along with an interpreter, were found in a shallow grave in the area two weeks later.

Their deaths were condemned by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who demanded action by the DRC government to investigate and bring the killers to justice. The U.N. is also carrying out its own investigation.

Isambwa referred to the two suspects as "insurgents" but did not say with what group they are affiliated. He said four police officers who were guarding the escaped suspect have themselves been arrested.

The remaining suspect was transferred to a jail in the city of Kananga with the help of the Congolese mission to the United Nations.