At least 60 people died in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo after a militia attack on displaced residents hiding in makeshift camps on Wednesday.
The head of a local humanitarian group and a camp resident reported the horrifying incident that took place. The two sources said that the CODECO militia was the one responsible for the siege that took place at around 2:00 a.m. GMT at the Savo camp near Bule in Ituri province.
Horrifying Attack
Jules Ngongo, the spokesman for the Ituri army, confirmed the CODECO militia's attack and provided an initial death toll of about 20 residents. The incident reportedly began when Congolese troops encountered the militia on Tuesday night. However, the attackers changed their travel direction and avoided the troops to get to the camp.
The CODECO militia is one of many militias operating within the eastern parts of Congo amid long-running tensions and arguments over land and resources. The militia's troops have killed hundreds of Congo civilians in Ituri and caused the displacement of thousands of others, as per Reuters.
One camp resident, Lokana Bale Lussa, said that she was in bed when she first heard the cries of other people in the camp area. She then noted that gunshots could be heard for several minutes afterward. Lussa added she immediately fled the premises and saw torches and people crying for help. The resident said she later realized that it was the CODECO militia that was responsible for the attack.
The president of the local humanitarian group for the Bahema-North area, Charite Banza Bavi, later put the death toll at 63. The area that the CODECO militia attacked was home to roughly 4,000 people as of December, based on data from the UN migration agency.
The New York Post reported that the majority of the militia's troops were drawn primarily from the Lendu farming community, which has long been opposed to Hema herders. A government spokesperson was not immediately reached for comment regarding the incident.
Chaos in Eastern Congo
The attack is recorded as one of the biggest assaults in nearly a year to be observed within the country's restive eastern region. The area is known to be plagued by poor governance, weak security, and rampant corruption.
Across the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri, there are more than 120 armed groups that operate and extend their reach. The Kivu Security Tracker, which is responsible for recording violence and human rights violations in eastern Congo, is the one that revealed the numbers.
A personnel of Caritas Congo, Ndalo Budz, manages the camp that was attacked on Tuesday night and said that, on top of the fatalities, the CODECO militia injured more than 50 other people in the camp. The coordinator of Kivu Security Tracker, Pierre Boisselet, added that the fatal victims included at least 16 children and nine women.
Eyewitnesses were also able to record video footage of the attack which were shared on social media platforms. The videos showed crowds crying over the bodies of their loved ones, the majority of which appeared to have deep cuts on their heads and necks, according to the New York Times.
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