Lala in Djugu territory experienced a dark night in which at least 40 civilians tragically lost their lives. CODECO combatants are identified as the main perpetrators of this brutal attack on a site for displaced people.
Although the Congolese army was present a few kilometers from the site, these attackers used machetes to carry out a rapid and destructive attack, leaving the civilian population completely without immediate protection. The provisional report presented by the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) speaks of twenty dead.
The army considers this attack as an act of sabotage of the ongoing peace process, coordinated by armed groups opposed to the peace protocol signed in Aru. Investigations are underway to discover the perpetrators and instigators of this attack and bring them before Congolese and international justice.
This massacre comes shortly after the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) signed a memorandum of understanding to carry out a joint mapping of crimes committed on the territory of the DRC.
Faced with this situation, the FARDC took essential measures to protect the civilian population and ensure that those responsible for this barbarity are held accountable. Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, spokesman for the army in the region, said that “the FARDC have taken useful measures to overcome this situation”.
This sad news once again expresses the need to continue efforts to ensure security and peace in the region and throughout the country. The DRC needs everyone’s cooperation to overcome these challenges and restore hope to its battered population.