14 killed, most beheaded, in rebel attack on DR Congo refugee camp

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – At least 14 civilians were killed in an overnight attack on a camp for internally displaced people in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern Ituri province, a local monitoring group said on Tuesday.

Most of the victims were beheaded with machetes, according to the Kivu Security Tracker.

It blamed the attack on the Lodda camp, located near the town of Fataki in Ituri’s Djugu region, on “militiamen from the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO) and the Union of Revolutionaries for the Defense of the Congolese People (URDPC).”

The victims include a DR Congo soldier, said Jules Tsuba, the head of a civil society group in Djugu, adding that seven more people were also wounded.

This is the third refugee camp in Djugu territory to be attacked this year by suspected CODECO militias.

A CODECO militia was also behind the massacre of 52 people at a mining site in Djugu’s Banyali Kilo sector over the weekend, which drew strong condemnation from UN chief Antonio Guterres.

In a statement on Monday, Guterres called on all armed groups in DR Congo to “halt their callous attacks on civilians … and lay down their weapons through the Disarmament, Demobilization, Community Recovery and Stabilization Program.”

Since last May, a “state of siege” has been imposed in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, with senior civilian officials replaced by army officers in a bid to curb the spiraling insecurity.

Growing unrest over the continuing restrictions have sparked protests in the region, leading to running battles between security forces and demonstrators.​​​​​​​