By Chris Muhizi for MCN Monday June 12th/2023.
According to local officials and activists, an attack on an IDP camp in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) resulted in the deaths of over 40 individuals.
The attack on the Lala camp early on Monday was carried out by fighters from a coalition of militia groups known as the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO), according to Richard Dheda, a representative of the local administration for Bahema Badjere in Djugu territory in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
According to Charite Banza, the leader of a local human rights organization, the victims would be interred in a mass grave.
Banza noted that the attack took place a few days after a meeting between armed groups in Ituri and declared, “We don’t have security here, we mention it every day.
He continued, “No justification for the brutal assault has yet been provided.
CODECO usually targets camps for displaced people. One of its bloodiest murders occurred last year at another camp close to Bule, where it slaughtered roughly 60 people.
CODECO claims to be protecting the Lendu community from the Hema and the army of the DRC.
At least 41 people were murdered in the attack on the camp, which was located 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Bule, the location of a United Nations peacekeeping base, according to Dheda, who was reported by the AFP news agency.
Witness Maki Lombe also reported seeing “more than 40 bodies” on the ground to the news agency Reuters. He claimed that he managed to escape through the night.
Desire Malodra, a civil society activist, told AFP that “they started firing shots, many people were burned to death in their homes, and others were killed by machete.”