At least 32 civilians have been killed by rebel groups in the Ituri province of eastern Congo, a United Nations spokesman said.
Twenty people were killed by the CODECO militant group and a dozen by the Allied Democratic Forces, allied with the Islamic State group, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference on Monday.
Calling the situation “confusing”, Dujarric said it is difficult for the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo to obtain more information due to restricted 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. CODECO killed at least 32 civilians last month, local officials say. In December, the United Nations said the insurgent group was expanding its areas of control, attacking Congolese civilians and military personnel and taxing communities in areas it controls.
The killings come amid escalating violence in eastern Congo, where conflict has simmered for decades, as more than 120 armed groups fight in the region, most for land and control of mines with valuable minerals. , while some groups try 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 was dormant for nearly a decade and resurfaced in late 2021, continues to seize swaths of territory and kill civilians.
The M23 first rose to prominence 10 years ago when its fighters seized Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, which borders Rwanda. The group derives its name from a peace agreement signed on March 23, 2009 that called for the rebels to join the Congolese army. The M23 accuses the government of not implementing the agreement. The group is believed to have Rwandan backing, findings supported by the UN.
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A peace deal made last year during a summit in Angola was supposed to see the M23 withdraw from areas it had captured, however that is not being implemented, according to local residents.
Last week, M23 fighters advanced on the town of Sake in the Masisi area, displacing more than 65,000 people, according to an internal report by 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 UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, has also come under fire amid the volatility.
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Earlier this month, one of the UN mission’s helicopters came under attack in North Kivu province, killing one South African peacekeeper and wounding another, the UN said. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. The United Nations Security Council said that deliberately attacking peacekeepers could constitute war crimes.
