According to local sources, the latest attack that hit the unrest-plagued region was carried out by militants and resulted in the deaths of seven civilians in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
On Saturday night (June 10, 2023), a local Red Cross employee claims that CODECO militiamen attacked an army post in the Djukoth region of the Mahagi territory of the Ituri province.
The province of Ituri is one of the most violent areas in eastern DRC, where attacks routinely result in the deaths of dozens of people.
According to the local source who wishes to remain unknown confirmed that seven civilians were killed near the position. Five children and two women were among the dead.
Innocent Wabekudu, a community leader in Mahagi, also said that CODECO fighters had “savagely killed” seven people, who were buried on Sunday (June 11, 2023).
Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, a spokesman for the Congolese army’s military operations in Ituri, was unavailable to comment on specifics of the attack at the time.
The eastern DR Congo, which is rich in minerals, has been plagued by armed groups for three decades as a result of local conflicts that erupted in the 1990s and 2000s.
The Lendu community is said to be protected by the CODECO, or Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, from the Hema and the DRC army.
