The death toll from attacks carried out on Sunday by suspected members of the militia Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO) against the town of Mungwalu, located in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has risen to nearly 20, according to civil society and United Nations sources.
The president of the civil society in the province of Ituri, Dieudonné Lossa, specified that the attacks resulted in 19 dead and many wounded, so it is not excluded that the death toll will continue to rise, as reported by the news portal Media Congo.
He also noted that the militiamen set fire to several houses, an incident that takes place just days before the start of voter registration for the upcoming elections in the African country. «It is a way of depriving them of their civic duty so that they do not go to vote,» he explained.
For his part, the spokesman for the UN Secretary General, Stéphane Dujarric, has indicated in a press conference that «at least 20 civilians» were killed in the attack by CODECO. «They also damaged medical infrastructure in a series of attacks on villages in Djugu,» he lamented.
CODECO, is predominantly made up of members of the Lendu community. The increase in their attacks in recent months has brought to mind the conflict between the Hema and the Lendu between 1999 and 2007 over grazing rights and political representation, which resulted in nearly 50,000 deaths, in an area rocked by the operations of several armed groups.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
