The toll of attacks on villages by militiamen on Saturday in Ituri, in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), rose from 15 to more than 30 dead, including many women and children, we learned Monday from local sources.
The toll of attacks on villages by militiamen on Saturday in Ituri, in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), rose from 15 to more than 30 dead, including many women and children, we learned Monday from local sources.
The CODECO ( Cooperative for the Development of Congo ) community militia, which claims to protect the Lendu tribe against the Hema tribe, is accused of carrying out the attacks early Saturday morning against five villages in the territory of Mahagi, killing inhabitants, stealing cattle, looting and burning houses.
Arnold Lokwa, head of the "chiefdom" of Panduru, in which the targeted villages are located, said on Sunday that the bodies of 15 victims had been found, "mostly women, children and old people".
