Militias attack camp for displaced in DRC's Ituri, more than 45 killed

More than 45 civilians were killed in a militia attack on a camp for displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's eastern Ituri province early on Monday, the UN's peacekeeping mission said.

The Co-operative for the Development of Congo (Codeco) group, one of many militias operating in the conflict-ridden east, was responsible for the killings at the “LALA” camp, the mission, known as Monusco, said.

Codeco claims to defend the interests of Lendu farmers, who have long been in conflict with Hema herders. Its fighters have killed hundreds of civilians in Ituri and forced thousands to flee their homes, according to the UN.

More than 45 people were killed and at least 10 wounded in the attack, Monusco said, adding it had liaised with provincial authorities to reinforce security in the area.

The UN refugee agency said armed assailants killed people, including women and children, with guns and machetes. At least 12 people were burnt alive after their shelters were set on fire, it added.

Ituri army spokesperson Jules Ngongo Tshikudi described the attack as an “act of sabotage” against attempts to restore peace and said investigations were under way.

Jean Richard Lenga, chief of Bahema Badjere district, said militiamen massacred 46 people with knives and firearms and burnt others in their homes in the middle of the camp.

“The whole village is in mourning now,” he said, adding that the authorities were still searching for bodies.

Many people have fled to the nearby town of Bule, seeking safety, Lenga said.

Around 70,000 displaced people arrived in Bule between April 15 and May 15 due to armed violence in the surrounding areas, the UN humanitarian office (OCHA) said in its latest report.

Ituri hosts about 1.7-million internally displaced people in total, it said.

A civil-rights group head, Charite Banza, said the attack happened a few days after a dialogue between armed groups in Ituri.

“We don't have security here, we say it every day,” Banza said. The victims' bodies would be buried in a mass grave, he said.

Codeco has frequently targeted displacement camps. It killed about 60 people at another camp near Bule last year, in one of its deadliest massacres.

Reuters