At least 32 civilians have been killed by rebel groups in Ituri province in eastern Congo, a UN spokesman said.
Twenty people were killed by the CODECO militia group and a dozen were killed by the Allied Democratic Forces, which is allied with the Islamic State group, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference on Monday.
Calling the situation “confused”, Dujarric said it was difficult for the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo to obtain more information due to limited movement in the area.
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Fighting between CODECO, a loose association of various ethnic Lendu militia groups, and Zaire, a mainly ethnic Hema self-defense group, has been ongoing since 2017 but has worsened recently. At least 32 civilians were killed by CODECO last month, local officials say. In December, the United Nations said the rebel group was expanding its areas of control, attacking civilians and the Congo army, and taxing communities in the areas it holds.
The killings come amid a surge of violence across eastern Congo, where conflict has simmered for decades as more than 120 armed groups are fighting in the region, most over land and control of mines with precious minerals, while some groups are trying to protect their communities.
At least 32 civilians have been killed by rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to an announcement on Monday. (AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro)
In neighboring North Kivu province, the situation is deteriorating as the M23 rebel group, which had lain dormant for nearly a decade and resurfaced in late 2021, continues to seize swathes of territory and kill civilians.
The M23 first came to prominence 10 years ago when its fighters seized Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, which sits on the border with Rwanda. The group takes its name from a peace agreement signed on March 23, 2009 which provided for the integration of the rebels into the Congo army. M23 accuses the government of not implementing the agreement. The group is believed to have the backing of Rwanda, findings supported by the United Nations
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A peace deal struck last year at a summit in Angola was supposed to see the M23 withdraw from areas it had captured, but that has not been implemented, according to local residents.
M23 fighters advanced on the town of Sake in the Masisi area last week, displacing more than 65,000 people, according to an internal report for aid groups seen by The Associated Press. The rebel advance increases the risk of isolating Goma and cutting off humanitarian access, aid agencies say.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, has also come under attack amid the volatility.
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Earlier this month one of the UN mission’s helicopters came under fire in North Kivu province, killing a South African peacekeeper and wounding another, the UN said. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. The United Nations Security Council said deliberately targeting peacekeepers could constitute a war crime.
