Congo, massacre in gold mines
“Armed groups called gumino, twirwaneho, android led by defecting colonels from the FARDC (Congolese armed forces), Makanika, Sematama, Mitabu and their allies have perpetrated yet another massacre against the civilian population and artisanal miners in the gold mine of Bigaragara, a locality in the Mutambala sector, (territory of the Fizi, in the province of South Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo) ”says a note sent to Agenzia Fides by the Societé Civile Hauts Plateaux de Milimba.
The budget of the assault is 21 people killed including: 7 found on the same day of the assault (17 August), 6 found in the following days in the bush and 8 charred in their homes. Of the 21 dead there are 9 women, 6 children and 6 men. There are 414 houses set on fire. Internally displaced people have taken different directions to escape the violence. “We remember that the town of Bigaragara was under the protection of the FARDC, the Congolese regular army but the latter has left the area” said the note sent to Fides.
Also on 17 August, the locality of Bijombo was attacked by the Tutsi rebels themselves, with a toll of 6 dead, 142 houses burned, 2 primary and secondary schools destroyed. “The displaced people of Fizi, Uvira and Itombwe / mwenga are not assisted by the Congolese government or by humanitarian organizations” says the representation of local civil society. “We urge the Congolese government to protect and assist populations in danger. We invite humanitarian organizations and people of good faith to help these populations who are in imminent danger ”the statement concludes.
In the highlands of the Fizi territory on the border with Burundi, clashes between tribal militias since January have resulted in dozens of deaths and displaced several thousand civilians. At least 6 aid workers were kidnapped by gunmen in the Fizi region, according to the UN. On 15 August, a contingent of the Burundian army was deployed in the Ruzizi area as a prelude to the operations of the multinational force of the Kenyan-led East African countries, with the task of fighting the hundreds of armed groups active in the eastern provinces of DRC.
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