Beni — At least 60 people were killed in a militia attack early on Wednesday at a displaced persons camp in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the head of a local humanitarian group and a camp resident.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but sources told Reuters that militia from Codeco, a loose association of various Lendu militia groups operating within the DRC, were responsible for the early morning killings at the Savo camp near Bule in Ituri province.
Ituri army spokesperson Jules Ngongo confirmed the attack by Codeco rebels and gave a provisional toll of about 20 dead.
DRC troops came into contact with the militia on Tuesday night, but the assailants changed direction and got past them to reach the camp, he said.
Codeco is one of an array of militias operating in eastern DRC amid long-standing tensions over land and resources. Its fighters have killed hundreds of civilians in Ituri and forced thousands to flee their homes, according to the UN.
In recent months it has targeted displacement camps, where some people had settled after fleeing other attacks by Codeco rebels.
“I first heard cries when I was still in bed. Then several minutes of gunshots. I fled and I saw torches and people crying for help and I realised it was the Codeco militiamen who had invaded our site,” said Lokana Bale Lussa, a camp resident.
“We have counted more than 60 dead and (more) seriously injured,” he said. “We really need security because we can't access our farms and now we're pursued even in our camps.”
The rebels used machetes and other weapons in the killing spree.
Charite Banza Bavi, president of the humanitarian group for the Bahema-North area, put the death toll at 63.
“Initial reports indicate that as many as 59 civilians were killed and a further 40 injured,” the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said in a statement. Two students at a school supported by the NRC were among the dead, it added, and the assailants had used both guns and machetes.
Wednesday’s attack took place far from eastern DRC’s tin mines. The NRC said about 68 people had been killed in previous attacks on five different camps in the same area since November.
Codeco’s fighters have long been in conflict with Hema herders.
The Savo camp is home to 24,000 people, among 1.7-million displaced in Ituri province, the NRC said. At least 1,200 civilians were killed in Ituri province in 2021.
Reuters
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