DRC: death toll from rebel attack in Ituri rises to nearly 50 dead
A miner descends using ropes, in a mine in Ituri, in 2018. © AFP/John Wessels
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), we know a little more about the motive for the rebel attack on a gold mine.
Civil society now puts forward a death toll of around fifty.
According to a press release from the Congolese army, these are the loss of human lives that occurred during the clashes between two factions of the rebel group Codeco.
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With our correspondent in Kinshasa,
Pascal Mulegwa
Isolated in a bush several kilometers from military positions, the gold mine in the village of Blankete escapes the control of state services.
Mining activities are carried out there illegally.
Two Codeco factions, one of which claims to defend the interests of the Lendu community and the other nicknamed Zaire, reputed to be close to the Hema community, are vying for control of this quarry.
At dawn on Sunday,
the diggers and other villagers found themselves in the crossfire
.
Dozens of them have lost their lives, the latest report reports about fifty dead.
The huts were burned.
We are still without news of several dozen people.
RFI joined the civil society coordinator in Ituri.
Dieudonné Lossa Dhekana believes that it is the financial interest represented by this mine that justified this bloody attack.
There are several other mining sites in this area [...] Since they are not worried, they can still attack other sites.
If we can kill people like that [daily], one day the president will wake up in Kinshasa, there will be no one left in Ituri.
Dieudonne Lossa Dhekana
According to local civil society, the army intervened late, which would have allowed the attackers to operate for several hours.
The army, for its part, said in a statement that for some time, clashes have been observed between the two armed groups in the mining area.
And to add: “
no community can claim to ensure its protection
”.
In its communication, the army ensures that the devices are put in place to strengthen security in the region and that "
these despicable acts will never go unpunished
".
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