Published: Less than 20 min ago
Fighting between rival armed groups and militias in eastern Congo-Kinshasa is worsening an already difficult situation in the war-torn eastern part of the country.
More than 30 civilians have been killed in recent fighting, mainly in Ituri province, said Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The situation is “puzzling”, said Dujarric at a press conference, as the attacks of the different groups are difficult to follow in the geographically huge province.
One of the groups, Codeco, is a loosely assembled militia made up of mainly fighters from the Lendu ethnic group. At least 20 civilians have been killed recently by the group, which is trying to control ever-larger areas of the region. Violence breaks out, for example, when the armed groups demand taxes from the local population.
In December, according to the UN, over 30 civilians were killed by Codeco.
Opponents in the battles are partly the Zaire group, a militia from the Hema ethnic group that claims to be trying to stop Codeco’s progress.
In parallel, the armed group ADF, with links to the Islamist terrorist movement IS, carries out attacks against both civilians and international peacekeeping forces.
But the UN and UN peacekeeping forces have difficulty getting a clear overview of the conflict in Ituri province, or of the fighting in the neighboring province of North Kivu where another rebel group, M23, is currently carrying out an offensive with many civilian casualties.
In total, the UN estimates that there are over 120 armed groups in the regions of eastern Congo-Kinshasa.