Militiamen attack a camp for the displaced and kill 11 in northeastern Congo
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Militiamen killed 11 people during an attack on Friday on a camp for the displaced in Congo's northeastern Ituri province, a U.N. spokesperson and a local civil society representative said.
Violence has surged across eastern Congo, where conflict has raged for decades. More than 120 armed groups are fighting in the region, most of them battling for land and control of mines with valuable minerals, while some are trying to protect their communities.
Rebels from the Cooperative for the Diversion of Congo, or CODECO, attacked the village of Djangi, in the Djugu territory, early in the morning, Jean-Tobie Okala, spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping mission known as MONUSCO, told The Associated Press.
Among the victims were eight children and three women, he said and added that the MONUSCO forces were eventually able to repel the attack.
Charité Banza, the head of civil society in the area, confirmed the death and said 12 people were also injured in the attack.
'We demand that justice be served in favor of the victims, that their rights be restored, and that the responsibility of each person involved in this massacre be established,' Banza said.
CODECO is a loose association of militia groups mainly from the ethnic Lendu farming community. The group's attacks killed nearly 1,800 people and wounded more than 500 in the four years from 2019 to the end of 2022, according to the African Center for the Study and Research on Terrorism.
The United Nations has said some of the attacks could constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In February, CODECO fighters killed at least 55 civilians in Djugu, the same territory that was attacked on Friday.
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