In the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a militia has carried out a massacre of refugees. According to authorities, the group killed more than 45 people. The Ituri region has been shaken by a bloody conflict for years.
At least 46 people have been killed in a militia attack on a refugee camp in central Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo. Local authorities said 23 children were among the victims. The massacre took place in a village in Ituri province in the east of the country. The reason for the attack was initially unknown.
The people were mostly killed with knives and firearms or died in their dwellings that were set on fire, the authorities said. Some of the dead are believed to have been beheaded and burned, a Red Cross spokesman said. Those killed are internally displaced persons. The refugee camp is five kilometers from Bule, a UN peacekeeping base.
1.7 million internally displaced persons in Ituri
Authorities and Red Cross officials blamed a militia called the Cooperative for Congo’s development (CODECO). It is considered the most violent group in Ituri province, which borders Uganda, and has been blamed for numerous attacks.
The militia is classified as an armed political-religious sect. According to its own statements, it defends the interests of the Lendu ethnic group, whose members live primarily as farmers, against the pastoralists of the Hema ethnic group.
The violent conflict between the Hema and Lendu ethnic groups flared up again in 2017. According to the United Nations, hundreds of civilians have already been killed and thousands displaced. Around 1.7 million internally displaced persons are now staying in the province of Ituri.
130 armed groups are said to be active
The east of the Congo is considered one of the most dangerous regions in the world. Around 130 different armed groups are said to be active across the country. In the unstable neighboring region of North Kivu, the M23 rebel group regained strength last year. The Congolese government had therefore moved troops from Ituri to North Kivu.
During a visit last week, the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations for Peacekeeping, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said that after the partial withdrawal of government troops, the deployment of UN blue helmets in the region is all the more crucial.