Nyatura Rebels Attack IDP Camp In Eastern DR Congo

Rebels suspected to be from the Nyatura group have killed seven people in an attack on a displaced persons camp in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to police authorities in the east of North Kivu province, the rebels attacked the IDP camp on the night of Wednesday, June 8, and Thursday, June 9.  

“In the night of Wednesday to Thursday, bandits killed seven persons in a camp for displaced persons in Rujagati,” Lt. Patrick Nkundabera, chief of the Kashuga police in Masisi territory to the east of North Kivu province said.

Lt. Nkundabera said the victims are four men and three women, noting that “The Nyatura rebels, who occupy that zone, are suspected to be responsible for the attack”.

The attack is the second time the displaced persons’ camp which houses more than 1,700 households made up essentially of Hutus and Hundes, is attacked since its creation in 2008. The first attack left five persons dead.

There are an estimated 5.3 million IDPs in DR Congo, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

The Nyatura armed group, which has never made known its stand on any issue, is constituted essentially of Congolese Hutus who are always accused by the civil society of being close to Rwandan Hutu rebels of the Forces Democratiques de Liberation (FDLR).

The last attack in a displaced persons’ camp in eastern Congo took place in Feb. this year in the Ituri province where 62 persons were killed.

North Kivu and Ituri provinces have been under a state of siege since May 6, 2021. 

The measure which grants total administrative powers to army and police officers is intended to curtail or totally eradicate the presence of armed groups in the two provinces. 

But it does not seem that there is any success in this regard because the massacre of civilians continues and the activities of the over 100 armed groups have continued unabated.