At Least 70 People Killed in a Militia Attack in Western Congo

World

By Associated Press

Published 1 year ago on

July 16, 2024

Deadly militia attack in western Congo kills at least 70 people, including soldiers, as violence intensifies between rival communities. (Shutterstock)

Armed men attacked a village in western Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 70 people, including nine soldiers.
The attack occurred in Kwamouth territory, where conflict has raged for two years between Teke and Yaka communities.
Despite a cease-fire, clashes between the communities have intensified, with the army failing to quell the violence.

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KINSHASA, Congo — At least 70 people, including nine soldiers and a soldier’s wife, were killed when armed men attacked a village in western Democratic Republic of Congo, local authorities said, as violence intensifies between two rival communities.

Conflict Rages Between Teke and Yaka Communities

The attack took place on Saturday in the village of Kinsele, around 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Kinshasa, the capital. Because of insecurity and poor infrastructure in the region, deadly attacks can take days to be reported.

Kinsele is located in the Kwamouth territory, where for the past two years conflict has raged between two local communities — Teke and Yaka — leading to deaths of hundreds of civilians.

As Congo battles armed groups in the east, violence has also intensified in the western part of the country.

Mobondo Militia Presents Itself as Defenders of Yaka People

The attackers were members of the Mobondo militia, an armed group presenting itself as defenders of the Yaka people.

“As of this morning (Monday, July 15), 72 bodies have already been found and the search continues to find other bodies in the bush,” David Bisaka, the provincial deputy for the Kwamouth territory, told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Security services on site continue to search for the bodies “after the army succeeded in routing this militia” for the second time in a week, Bisaka said. The Mobondo militia first tried to attack the same village on Friday.

Conflict Over Land Rights and Customary Taxes

Following Saturday’s attack, the bodies found included those of nine soldiers and one woman, the wife of a soldier, the head of a nearby village, Stanys Liby, told the U.N.-funded Radio Okapi.

The conflict over land and customary claims in the Kwamouth territory erupted in June 2022 between so-called “native” and “non-native” communities, according to the advocacy group Human Rights Watch.

Tensions flared in June 2022 over land rights and customary taxes between the Teke, historical inhabitants of the region, and farmers from various other ethnic groups including the Yaka, who settled near the Congo River more recently.

Despite a cease-fire agreed in April 2024 in the presence of Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi, clashes between the two communities have continued, and even intensified in recent weeks, with the Congolese army failing to quell the violence.

The army is also struggling to contain the violence in the eastern part of the country, which has been torn by decadelong fighting between government forces and more than 120 armed groups seeking a share of the region’s gold and other resources.

Violence in the eastern part of the country has worsened in recent months as security forces battle the militias. Earlier this month, a militia attack on a gold mine in northeastern Congo killed six Chinese miners and two Congolese soldiers.