Militia kills 15 in eastern DR Congo: local sources
CODECO fighters ambushed users of a road near the village of Tali, where they stopped 15 people including one woman on Saturday afternoon.
Militia fighters killed 15 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's troubled Ituri province, local sources said on Sunday, in the second such attack in less than a week.
The sources said the CODECO (Cooperative for the Development of the Congo) militia, which claims to defend the interests of the Lendu group, again targeted victims from the rival Hema tribe.
CODECO fighters ambushed users of a road near the village of Tali, where they stopped 15 people including one woman on Saturday afternoon, said Jules Tsuba, leader of Djugu territory's civil society.
The militiamen tied them up and undressed them before killing them, some victims "had their throats cut, others were shot dead", he said.
According to a humanitarian source, "the bodies of the victims bear the marks of torture."
Ruphin Mapela, the territory's administrator, confirmed the toll of 15 dead and said the attack came after months of peace.
CODECO was among several Congolese armed groups that signed a peace deal last year after negotiations in Nairobi.
Tsuba said he wanted the government to "accelerate the peace process" through a programme of disarmament and reintegration of militia fighters into their communities.
On Tuesday, a suspected CODECO attack left seven panners dead on mining sites in Djugu territory.
Gold-rich Ituri suffered a conflict between ethnic-based militias from 1999 to 2003 that left thousands dead before the intervention of a European force.
Fighting flared again in 2017, killing thousands of civilians and triggering mass displacement.
Story by AFP
Top Stories Today
- Bobi Wine’s bodyguard appears in court after alleged abduction by Muhoozi
- National campaign launched to tackle GBV and femicide
- Four police officers charged with murder of Baby Samantha Pendo
- Kamukunji residents participate in NG-CDF public consultations
- Rights groups decry injustice as 8 officers cleared in Baby Pendo case
- No cause for panic over unga prices, state says amid rising food costs
- Political leaders condemn shoe-throwing incident on Ruto in Migori
- Rwanda in talks to receive migrants deported from US
- Pope Francis's popemobile set to become health clinic for Gaza children
- Millers increase unga prices as maize supply tightens
- Court to rule on halt of prison recruitments, suspension of budget-making process
- State blames underdevelopment for insecurity in 23 counties
- Pakistani Bank Al Habib announces exit from Kenya after 7 years
- Baby Pendo murder case: 11 officers to be charged with crimes against humanity
- Somali coffee and tea: Why milk makes all the difference
- From chapati rolls to canjeero pizza: How families are reinventing snack time
- Baby Pendo murder case: DPP drops charges against 6 senior police officers
- Voter moves to court seeking to stop police from arresting Governor Wamatangi
- Treasury targets foreign firms in public tenders with fresh tax proposal
- MPs slam TSC for ignoring court ruling on age gap for teachers
