36 people were killed on January 28 in Manzingi, a village 20 kilometers northwest of Oicha. The attack, which took place in the Beni region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is assumed to have been carried out by Ugandan rebels.
Donat Kibwana, a local Beni governor, reported to the AFP news agency that the civilians “were all hacked to death.” The AFP reported that two people have been admitted to a hospital in Oicha due to skull fractures caused by machetes.
Conflict in the Beni region began in late October when the national army began to restrict the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Kivu Security Tracker (KST) reports that 265 people have been killed as a part of a scare tactic in the region since then. The nation’s troop’s military operations have targeted armed groups along the eastern side of the country. The response to these actions by the national army has resulted in the slaughter of civilians across the nation.
Conflict in the nation has led to political unrest as protesters in Beni accused the UN peacekeeping force in the DRC of failing to protect them in November. The current leader of the DRC, President Felix Tshisekedi, came into office one year ago and has since had difficulties combating the massacres plaguing the nation. Last month, in his first state-of-the-nation address, he claimed to have moved the army command to Beni, sending 22,000 troops to the area.
To read more, visit:
https://www.voanews.com/africa/dr-congo-army-says-adf-rebels-killed-30-soldiers
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/12/many-dead-dr-congo-massacre-201412785151582543.html
Author: Teagan Foti; Editor: Noelle Musolino
