Gunmen from the CODECO (Cooperative for the Development of Congo) group killed at least 55 civilians in an attack on villages and camps for displaced people in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo), local authorities announced today.
The attacks occurred Monday night in villages in Djaiba, in Ituri province, the leader of a camp for displaced people there, Antoinnette Nzale, told the Associated Press news agency, adding that the number of victims was possibly higher as bodies continued to be removed from burned homes.
“Most of the victims were displaced people who were killed with machetes and firearms,” Mumbere David, a Djaiba resident, told the AP by telephone.
CODECO is an informal association of militia groups, mainly from the Lendu farming community.
The group's attacks killed about 1,800 people and injured more than 500 between 2018 and 2022, according to the Africa Centre for the Study and Research of Terrorism.
In September, CODECO fighters killed at least 20 civilians in Djugu, the same territory attacked on Monday night.
Violence has been rising across eastern DR Congo, Angola's neighbour, where conflict has dragged on for decades. The United Nations has said some of the attacks may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
More than 120 armed groups are fighting in the region, most for land and control of mines with valuable minerals, while some are trying to protect their communities.
This situation was aggravated on January 26 when the March 23 Movement, supported by Rwanda, took Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, which is about 350 kilometers south of Ituri province.
