Islamic-State linked rebels kill nine in Congo village attack
Islamic-state linked rebels launched an attack on a village in the conflict-hit east Congo, which has led to the deaths of at least nine villagers and caused displacement, The Associated Press reported on March 9th.
On March 8th, armed with guns and machetes, the IS linked rebels attacked the villagers as they tended to their farms in the village of Ngohi Vuyinga in North Kivu province’s Lubero territory.
Along with the nine deaths, the attack has resulted in dozens displaced and caused several houses to be burnt down, a local civil society leader, Samuel Kahgeni, said.
Kagheni explained: “Yesterday’s toll could rise because there were even some missing people”.
This follows from locals with long-standing safety concerns boiling to the point of frustration that the government seems docile in efforts to stop the hostilities. “Is our army, the FARDC (Congolese armed forced) really leading offensives against this enemy?… every day people are attacked, civilians are killed under the helpless eye of our FARDC,” a youth leader of the nearby Vuyinga village, César Kambale said.
Kambale also said: “The peaceful population is still being killed, but there is no intervention on the government side.”
However, the violence doesn’t seem to be losing momentum. Only as recent as January, 10 villagers were killed in the village of Makoko by extremist rebels linked to IS affiliates.
For decades now, Eastern Congolese land has been subject to a power-grab from more than 100 armed groups, all thirsty for the rich minerals the region provides. Recently, in a rapid escalation of the yearlong fighting, two key eastern Congolese cities have been captured by Rwanda-backed rebels.
And, amidst the backdrop of the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, which has seen the displacement of an estimated seven million people, the violence rages on.
The Associated Press
