CODECO Rebels Kill 5 Civilians In Ndjala, DR Congo
Rebel groups like CODECO continue to wreak havoc in Ituri and North Kivu provinces of DR Congo, killing civilians and damaging properties, despite an ongoing military action.
Five civilians were killed and butchered by rebels of the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO) in Ndjala village in the North Bahema chiefdom in Djugu territory, Democratic Republic of Congo.
HumAngle learnt that the attack on the villagers happened on Friday, April 15.
“The attack took place about two kilometres from a United Nations Blue Helmets camp on the Drodro highway,” said Charite Banza, leader of the civil society in the Bahema North chiefdom.
“The provisional casualty figure is five civilians killed by machete by CODECO militia who came from the neighbouring Walendu Djatsi chiefdom. The dead included three men, one woman and a child,” Banza added.
The DR Congo national army, FARDC, said it has intensified the tracking of militia in the zone which has been unstable since Dec. 2017.
A government mission led by Prime Minister, Sama Lukonde, this week travelled to Bunia to evaluate the state of siege which does not seem to be having the envisaged effects of eradicating violence in Ituri and North Kivu provinces.
Several observers are asking for the state of siege to be lifted or its operationality reviewed in the zones most hard hit by violence.
But the state of siege was extended on April 21 to May 5, 2022, by votes in parliament and the senate on Monday April 18, 2022.
The CODECO militia are accused of several exactions including the massive killing of civilians, arson of villages and looting in Djugu territory as well as part of Irumu territory.
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