KINSHASA, Congo
Militiamen attacked a camp for people fleeing violence in Congo’s eastern Ituri province overnight, killing at least 60 people staying at the shelter, local officials said Wednesday.
Fighters with the group known as CODECO arrived at
the Plaine Savo displaced persons site in Djugu and killed dozens of people
using machetes and other weapons, said Ndalo Budz, who is the head of the camp.
“We currently have 60 people in the shelters for
the displaced who were killed with machetes and other edged weapons,” he said
to local press.
Local administrative officials confirmed the
account.
Four people have been brought to the hospital,
according to Pilo Mulindo, the head of the chiefdom of Bahema N’adhere.
The CODECO militia and the Allied Democratic Forces
are active in the eastern Congo region and killed dozens last year. The
violence has caused the suspension of humanitarian agencies in this part of
Congo.
Congo’s army on Wednesday condemned the CODECO
militiamen for attacking civilians displaced by war and denounced their action
as crimes against humanity.
Army spokesman Jules Ngongo sought to assure people
that the army would pursue and punish the perpetrators.
“We condemn this criminal, terrorist act to attack
the displaced where there is an innocent civilian population who has no means
of defense, it is worse than madness and cowardice and it is a crime against
humanity. These perpetrators will be severely punished,” he said.
The security situation remains worrying in several
villages in the territory of Djugu, where civilians have been killed by CODECO
rebels despite joint operations by the Ugandan army and Congo.
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