UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th February, 2022) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounces the attack on a camp for internally displaced people in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that left dozens of civilians killed, spokesman Farhan Haq said on Thursday.
On February 2, militants from the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) militia group, armed with machetes and other weapons, attacked civilians in the Savo displacement camp in Ituri Province of the DRC.
"The Secretary-General strongly condemns the attacks by CODECO militias on the Savo camp for internally displaced persons in Ituri province, the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Haq said in a statement.
He added that at least 58 civilians were killed and 36 injured in the attack.
The UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) conducted joint operations with the armed forces of the DRC following the attack and pushed the assailants out of the area, Haq said.
The spokesman also pointed out that Guterres noted the "reprehensible" nature of the attack against civilians already displaced by conflict and urged the Congolese authorities to investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The DRC is currently facing a variety of rebel and militant groups operating in the eastern part of the country. CODECO operates in the province of Ituri with its militia composed of representatives of the Lendu people.
The agricultural Lendu and pastoralist Hema ethnic groups in Ituri have been fighting each other over scarcity of land for decades.
