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- Sixty-two refugees from the Hema ethnic community have been killed and many injured in a militia attack.
- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 10 similar attacks last year in which 106 people were killed.
- The Geneva International Centre for Justice has called on the DRC government to guarantee justice and security for the surviving victims.
There has been a sharp increase in tribally motivated violence targeting internally displaced people (IDPs) in refugee camps in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
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In the latest incident, 62 IDPs were killed in an attack linked to the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, a loose association of various Lendu militia groups.
"On 1 February, at least 62 internally displaced people, members of the Hema ethnic community, were killed and 38 others injured by the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (Codeco) armed group in a night-time attack on the Plaine Savo IDP camp. All the victims were either shot or attacked with machetes and knives," spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) Liz Throssell said in a statement.
She said the incident was the latest and deadliest in a string of attacks, which started on 19 November 2021:
"Between 19 and 28 November 2021, four other sites were attacked by Codeco, including the village of Drodro. At least 58 people from the Hema community were killed, including at least nine women and four children," she added.
Earlier, the UNHCR said in 2021 it recorded 10 attacks on IDP sites in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu. It said at least 106 people were killed, 16 injured and at least seven women subjected to acts of sexual violence.
The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Monusco) – the UN's peacekeeping force in the DRC – has offered to help the state to investigate the root cause and severity of the simmering ethnically inspired attacks on IDPs.
The Geneva International Centre for Justice has called for justice for the surviving victims.
The organisation said:
The DRC's history of conflict is arguably the world's worst since World War 2. More than 5.4 million people have been killed, and critics say very little is being done to put an end to the hostilities.
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
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