Codeco group militians, which claims to defend the interests of the learned community in this province, are suspected of being responsible for this assault.
Le Monde with AFP.
Twenty-two civilians were killed on Sunday, November 28, in a new attack on a moved camp in Ituri, in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, less than a week after a similar assault that did 29 dead on a neighboring site.
“After the attack of the Ivo IDP Center this Sunday, twenty bodies were buried in two common pits and two wounded who succumbed to their wounds were also buried, with the number of people killed” , told the France-Presse agency (AFP) Mambo Bapu Mance, Djugu Red Cross Coordinator (Ituri, Northeast).
He accuses the “Cooperative for the Development of Codeco” group militiamen to be responsible for this attack. The experts of the Kivu Secure Barometer (KST), which has experts in the region, reported the same assessment at AFP. The army spokesperson in the region, Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, has indicated that “Codeco attackers were pushed back”, without giving details on the balance sheet.
The Union European calls for firmness
The head of the European diplomacy Josep Borrell called on his side to a firm reaction against the authors of the attack. “The European Union condemns the new frightful attacks by militia against civilian populations, especially displaced persons inside the country,” Have it written on Twitter . “Firmness against authors and support and justice for victims are needed for lasting peace in the region”.
The Ituri gold region has returned with the violence since the end of 2017 with the advent of the Codeco militia, which claims to defend the interests of the lende, one of the communities of this province.
In another attack on the night from Saturday to Sunday, “Five civilians were killed” in the territory of Irumu and “four civilians” were killed on the outskirts of Bunia, head-town of the Ituri, a In addition, stated, AFP, Isaac Nyakuklinda, an Irumu Civil Society Manager.
Since May, the Ituri and the neighboring province of North Kivu are under state of siege, an exceptional measure to combat armed groups. Civil authorities have been replaced by army and police officers.
However, massacres and kidnappings of civilians are continuing. In Ituri, the last major killing goes back on Monday with a balance sheet of at least 29 deaths among the displaced Drodro camp, near that of Ivo.