DRC: another journalist murdered in Ituri, in the east of the country

Monusco peacekeepers patrol the province of Ituri (photo illustration) SAMIR TOUNSI / AFP

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In eastern DRC, in Ituri, a journalist was assassinated on the night of Friday to Saturday, August 14.

It happened in Kenya, in Mambasa territory, about 100 kilometers west of Bunia, the provincial capital.

Joël Musavuli was the director of the community radio RTCB / Biakato.

According to one of his colleagues from another media, he was murdered by armed men.

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Joël Musavuli and his wife were attacked in the night at their home.

They were beaten with machetes.

The journalist died instantly while his wife, injured in the throat, succumbed to her injuries on Saturday morning.

For the time being, no information has filtered out concerning the identity of the perpetrators of this assassination.

According to several of his colleagues joined by

Victor Mauriat

, from the Africa service, Joël Musavuli had been receiving death threats for several weeks.

These anonymous threats were made by telephone.

It is also unclear why the Biakato radio journalist was under pressure.

This is not the first time that colleagues have been murdered in the east of the country.

Last week, journalist

Héritier Magayane

was killed in Ruthsuru in North Kivu, again by unidentified armed men.

Other journalists working in the region are worried. They ask justice to shed light on these murders, so, they tell us, not to be forced to work in fear. In a statement last April, CPJ,

Committee to Protect Journalists

, expressed concern over threats "Congolese security forces" posed to "two radio stations following reports of military abuse."

According to the spokesperson for the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) in Ituri, the Congolese army is currently deploying in the area to try to clarify the circumstances of the tragedy.

We should add that the state of siege and military supervision have been imposed since May 6, by order of the President of the DRC, Félix Tshisekedi in this troubled region of Ituri as well as in the neighboring region of North Kivu where many armed groups.

This is particularly the case of the Ugandan rebels of the ADF, singled out in the deadly attacks which regularly plague Beni territory.

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• DRC

• Media

• Freedom of press