As reported by local authorities on a recent Saturday, a militia group launched a series of attacks on various villages in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri region that resulted in 23 fatalities at the very least. This aggression was orchestrated by the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) group. This group is known to be one among several armed factions involved in the longstanding strife in the eastern region. According to two local community leaders, the group perpetrated the mortifying events in Djugu district in the past few days, specifically on Thursday and Friday.
Vital Tungulo, president of the Nyali-Kilo community in Djugu, stated, “In all assaults on these hamlets, the populace’s personal effects were seized and their dwellings torched. Most of the casualties died from machete wounds, while those who attempted escape were shot.” The reasons behind these gruesome operations remain uncertain. Still, warfare involving different militias in Congo is generally intertwined with an enduring rivalry for control and the abundant mineral wealth in the region.
The UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) disclosed in a document released earlier this year, in March, that since the onset of the year, there has been a considerable deterioration in the human rights status in Ituri due to escalated assaults carried out by CODECO.
The military spokesperson based in Ituri, Jules Ngongo Tshikudi, verified these attacks and slammed them as intolerable. According to a document released by the United Nations peacekeeping mission in March, CODECO and the Allied Democratic Forces – another militia group, are primarily accountable for most civilian deaths that occur in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. However, attempts to reach CODECO for their inputs on the most recent attacks turned out futile.
In the wake of these horrific events, the local inhabitant and community leader, Daniel Anikumu, stated that they had begun the grim task of burying the deceased, which included laying 11 people to rest in a common burial ground in Gangala village – as per Reuters.