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At least 47 civilians were killed this Sunday by an attack by the rebel group Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) against an artisanal gold mine in Ituri, in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The CODECO militia is considered one of the deadliest armed groups in eastern Congo.
This Sunday, at least 47 civilian deaths were recorded at the hands of rebels from the armed group CODECO in an attack on an artisanal mining site in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There were also several injuries, some of them seriously.
“It was a real carnage by the CODECO militiamen, who killed 47 civilians while many others are missing and houses were set on fire,” said the coordinator of civil society groups in Ituri province, in the northeast of the country, Jean Bosch Lalo.
The gold mine is part of several unofficial mines that are concentrated in the east of the country. It is known as “Camp Blanquette” and is located in the jungle more than 7 km from the city of Mungwalu, in the territory of Ituri, a bastion of the CODECO armed group.
One of the deadliest groups in eastern DRC
CODECO is a rebel group that was born in 2018 with the aim of fighting against the abuses of the Army. However, it is considered one of the deadliest armed groups in eastern Congo as it has carried out numerous killings of civilians.
Since mid-November 2021, this group has multiplied its attacks in Ituri. In addition to civilians and soldiers, CODECO militiamen also attack displaced people and humanitarian workers.
Ituri has been under a state of siege since May 6, 2021, the Army and the Police have full powers to direct the administration and wage war against the more than 100 armed groups that are present in eastern Congo.
However, the authorities have failed to stop the massacres of civilians.
Attacks condemned by the UN
On several occasions, the United Nations has condemned this type of attack. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in 2021 CODECO killed more than 400 people.
The director of the UN peace mission in the DRC, Bintou Keita, recognized the “deterioration of the security situation”, especially due to “the bloody reprisals of the Allied Democratic Forces against the population of North Kivu and Ituri”.
Since 1998, the east of the DRC has suffered from a conflict fueled by rebel militias and attacks by Army soldiers. Thousands of Congolese have had to take up arms and at least 122 armed groups are present in the region.
With EFE and AFP
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