GOSHEN, Ind. -- The body of a kidnapped Indiana man was found Tuesday in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Michael Sharp grew up in Goshen, Indiana and went to Bethany Christian High School.
The body of the U.N. expert was found in a shallow grave along with a Swedish expert and their interpreter. All three disappeared in the Congo on March 12, along with three drivers.
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They were looking into large-scale violence and alleged human rights violations by the Congolese army and local militia groups.
Their disappearance is the first time U.N. experts have been reported missing in Congo, Human Rights Watch has said, and it is the first recorded disappearance of international workers in the Kasai provinces.
Congo's government said Wednesday it will investigate the deaths. Meanwhile, Sweden said it was opening a murder investigation.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said late Tuesday the world body would conduct an inquiry into what happened to the men. He said the cause of their deaths hadn't yet been determined.
Parts of Congo, particularly the east, have experienced insecurity for decades, but violence in the Kasai provinces in central Congo represents a new expansion of tensions.
The Kamwina Nsapu militia has been fighting security forces since last year, with the violence increasing after security forces killed the militia's leader in August. More than 400 people have been killed and more than 200,000 displaced since then, according to the U.N.
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