Status: 02/02/2022 2:22 p.m
At least 60 people have been killed in an attack on a refugee camp in eastern Congo. Codeco militia fighters attacked the camp. Hundreds of civilians have been killed by the militia in recent years.
According to the authorities, at least 60 people were killed in an attack on a camp for displaced people in eastern Congo. Victims at Plaine Savo camp in Congo’s Ituri province were attacked with machetes and other weapons, camp director Ndalo Budz told local press. Officials confirmed the description.
A camp resident reports hearing screams and shots: “We counted more than 60 dead and others seriously injured.” The aid organization for the Bahema North region spoke of 63 dead.
Attackers from the Codeco militia
The attackers were members of the Codeco militia. Their fighters come mainly from the Lendu ethnic group, which has been in conflict with the Hema ethnic group for a long time.
According to the UN migration agency, around 4,000 people who had been driven from their homes were staying in the Savo camp in December.
The Congolese military spoke of a crime against humanity. Military spokesman Jules Ngongo said they condemned “this criminal terrorist act of attacking the displaced where there is an innocent civilian population with no means of defense”.
Hundreds of civilians killed
A bloody conflict over power and natural resources has been raging in the eastern Congolese provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu for more than 20 years. Numerous militias are active in the region, fighting with the Congolese army and repeatedly attacking the civilian population. In recent years, Codeco fighters have killed hundreds of civilians in Ituri and forced thousands to flee. Recent attacks have also targeted camps for displaced people.