DR Congo militia attack kills at least 17 civilians
The massacre 'brings to at least 1,137 the number of civilians killed in North Kivu and Ituri...'
Militia fighters killed at least 17 civilians Monday in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo province of Ituri, local sources and a security watchdog said.
Fighters of the Patriotic and Integrationist Force of Congo (FPIC) attacked the village of Chabusiku, a local official said, adding that some of the victims were burned alive in their homes.
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Chabusiku is just seven miles from Bunia, the provincial capital, in a region plagued by inter-communal violence.
The sourced official, David Bahinduka Bamuhiga, said the army was slow to arrive, and 17 people were killed.
"We recruited youths to dig graves to bury the victims," he said.
Experts of the Kivu Security Tracker (KST), a respected monitor, put the death toll at 18 and also blamed the FPIC.
The massacre "brings to at least 1,137 the number of civilians killed in North Kivu and Ituri since the start of the state of siege on May 6," KST tweeted.
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North Kivu and Ituri have been under a "state of siege" to support a military offensive aimed at neutralizing armed groups who target civilians as well as army positions.
President Felix Tshisekedi decreed the measure, under which soldiers and police officers have replaced civilian authorities in the two provinces.
The FPIC claims to defend the interests of the Bira ethnic group, one of many in the gold-rich province that descended into violence in 2017 after years of relative calm.