Suspected CODECO militants launched a brutal assault on the Djangi displaced persons camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeastern Ituri province on Friday, killing at least 10 people, according to local sources cited by AFP. AP News, citing a UN peacekeeping mission spokesperson, reported 11 fatalities, including eight children and three women.

The attack, carried out by the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO) militia, underscores the persistent and deadly violence plaguing the gold-rich Ituri province, which borders Uganda. Richard Likana, the head of the Djangi camp, described the surprise assault: “They were many and armed with firearms and machetes. They surprised us, they killed 10 displaced people, most of them women and children.”

A Red Cross employee, speaking anonymously, corroborated the attack, noting that victims were “cut up with machetes while others were shot.” Congolese army Colonel Ruffin Mapela, the local administrator for Djugu territory where the camp is located, confirmed the death toll of 10 and stated 15 others were injured. UN peacekeeping forces (MONUSCO) were eventually able to repel the attack.

CODECO is a predominantly ethnic Lendu militia that has been involved in a long-running and brutal conflict with the Hema people, typically nomadic herders, in Ituri province. This conflict, which flared anew in 2017 after a period of relative calm, has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths and the displacement of over 1.5 million people in the region. Humanitarian organizations and local authorities frequently report attacks on civilian populations and displacement camps by various armed groups, including CODECO.

The Friday assault on Djangi camp follows a February 10 attack, also attributed to CODECO, that killed 51 people, mostly displaced persons, in Ituri province. That raid was reportedly a response to a strike by the rival Hema-led Zaire militia in the same area. The ongoing violence highlights the immense challenges in protecting civilians in eastern DRC, even within designated displacement sites meant to offer refuge.

By: TPA News Desk | editor@thepointafricanews.com