60 Dead in Violent Ituri Province Attack in Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo  (DRC) – On February 1, 2022 about 60 people were killed in a deadly attack at Plaine Savo camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province for displaced people. More than 50 people were severely injured; the majority of those targeted were women and children. The make-shift camp for displaced people is home to about 4,000  people, of the 1.7 million total displaced diaspora in Ituri Province. The people of Plaine Savo Camp believed that the United Nations peacekeeper(s) and Congolese army camp(s) based only about a mile away would protect them, but instead woke up to a barrage of violence.

The attack was one of the largest to hit the region in almost a year. 

“I first heard cries when I was still in bed, then several minutes of gunshots. I fled and saw torches and people crying for help and I realized it was the CODECO militiamen who had invaded our site,” said Lokana Bale Lussa, a camp resident. Ndalo Budz, head of the Plaine Savo camp, confirmed that the attack, which was carried out by machetes and other sharp weapons, was conducted by a group known as the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO). CODECO is just one of more than 120 armed groups that operate in east Congo, a region rich in land and natural resources. According to the United Nations, “the attacks… stem in part from inter-communal tensions, compound problems faced by people who are internally displaced.”

CODECO was originally founded in the 1970s by Bernard Kakado. At one point, it was a peaceful group and  its purpose was to promote agriculture in the Walendu-Bindi area of the Irumu Territory of Ituri and advocate against foreign abuse of natural resources. The group wanted to reclaim land which the Hema tribe had allegedly seized. 

In 2003, the Internationally-led Operation Artemis was able to temporarily stop the violence between the Lendu and Hema. But neither group ever completely dissolved. In 2017, CODECO ambushed Djugo, a town in the Ituri province, and the DRC worked closely to negotiate a plan to move forward. It was unsuccessful and shortly thereafter the CODECO resumed.

In its most recent attack, The CODECO targeted the Plaine Savo Camp for which the majority of the population belong to the Hema community. 

The attack wasn’t an isolated event. Over the past year, CODECO has killed at least 1,200 people in the Ituri province and forced many more to flee. Consequently, they targeted those displacement camps where people had fled. 

In 2021, David McLachlan-Karr, a UN resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator addressed the repeated attacks on civilians.“I am shocked, outraged and deeply saddened,” McLahlan-Karr said. To address this issue, he worked closely with the UN Country Team to adopt a new approach which would focus on increased peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance for all, but specifically those most vulnerable. 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is also heavily involved. In 2021, they assisted more than 250,000 people. They  continue to provide assistance and protection, through integrated programming, to families during all phases of displacement.

There is a serious concern that other closely located Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camps could be targeted next. 

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights strongly urged against it and warned of retaliation by the Ituri Self-Defense Popular Front (FPAC-ZAIRE) group composed primarily of the Hema community. 

In a statement on February 3, 2022 the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, “strongly commenced” the attack and it was announced that peacekeepers in the DRC have increased their presence. 

Article by Kennedy Nieves of Winston Churchill High School

Photo courtesy of Unsplash