DR Congo: 'Spiral of death' in Ituri province

In the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri province, armed groups are attacking more villages by the day, as more than 100 civilians were reportedly killed in just a week in late November.

DR Congo and neighboring Uganda this week launched a military operation in the northeast province Ituri - as well as in adjacent North Kivu - against Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels.

The rebels are accused of being behind deadly attacks in Ugandan territory.

From November 21 to 28 alone, "we counted at least 123 civilians killed," said Pierre Boisselet, coordinator of the Kivu Security Tracker, whose researchers are active in conflict zones.

Three of Ituri's five territories are particularly affected.

In Djugu and Mahagi, different factions of the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo mainly attack Hema animal herders, claiming to defend the interests of the Lendu farming community.

Further south in Irumu territory, the ADF slaughtered nearly 300 people since the start of 2021.

At a camp for the displaced in Djugu, raids forced tens of thousands of people already driven from their villages by the violence to flee again. 

Joseph Inganji, head of the United Nations humanitarian agency in DR Congo, said there were four such attacks on sites where internally displaced people were living.

"In addition to dozens of dead and wounded, many people have been kidnapped around these sites," he said.

Erwan Rumen, a World Food Program coordinator, regarded the situation as a “spiral of death.”

"The more violence there is, the more people are in need… when people can no longer meet their basic needs, there are automatically more candidates to join the armed groups," Rumen explained.