Congolese militia attacks have left more than 60 civilians dead over the past week in Djugu territory in Ituri province, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, following the confirmation of 13 other civilians killed during an assault by Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO) militias.
The attack occurred on Friday, in the town of Nyamamba, a locality located on the shores of Lake Albert, about 70 kilometers east of Bunia, the provincial capital, local sources told Radio Okapi.
Among the dead are eight women and two children, according to local civil society. An undetermined number of residents have been injured and have been taken to medical centers near the scene of the tragedy.
In the region there are three other armed groups, mainly active alongside CODECO: the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the Front for the Patriotic Resistance of Ituri (FRPI) and the Patriotic and Integrationist Force of Congo (FPIC).
Their activity provoked the Congolese government to declare a state of emergency in May 2021, still in force, in an attempt to contain a violent armed conflict. It should be recalled that the United Nations held the ADF responsible for the execution of at least 1,200 civilians that year.
According to the report presented Thursday by civil society groups in the province, and also reported by Radio Okapi, the state of siege has not achieved its goal and has ended up turning the region into a bubble of fighting and assaults that cost, only between January 6 and 10, the lives of 34 civilians and thousands of displaced people.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
