Militia kills 23 people in eastern Congo village

BUTEMBO, Democratic Republic of Congo: A militia killed at least 23 people in attacks on several villages in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province in recent days, local authorities said on Saturday.

The Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) group, one of many armed groups operating in the conflict-ridden east, carried out the killings in Djugu territory on Thursday and Friday, two local community leaders told Reuters.

“Most of the victims were killed with machetes, but those who tried to flee were shot. In all these villages, people’s belongings were taken, houses were burnt down,” said Vital Tungulo, president of Djugu’s Nyali-Kilo community.

The human rights situation in Ituri has deteriorated since the beginning of the year as CODECO carries out more attacks, the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) said in a report published in March.