Nyamamba and Mbogi mass graves

Last updated
Nyamamba and Mbogi mass graves
Part of Ituri conflict
LocationNyamamba and Mbogi, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo
DateJanuary 14–15, 2023
Deaths49 killed
  • 42 in Nyamamba
  • 7 in Mbogi
Perpetrator CODECO (per MONUSCO)
Zaire-FPAC (per CODECO)
MotiveKilling of a Lendu schoolteacher

On January 19, 2023, the United Nations investigators discovered the bodies of forty-two civilians in the village of Nyamamba, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and seven bodies in the village of Mbogi, in the same province. The victims were killed over the weekend by suspected CODECO between January 14 and 15.

Contents

Background

CODECO is a loose-knit alliance of Lendu militias in Ituri province, that has been fighting against the Congolese government and Hema militias since the start of the Ituri conflict. [1] In February 2022, the group killed dozens of civilians in a refugee camp in Plaine Savo. [1] Between December 2022 and the start of the Nyamamba attacks, over a hundred civilians had been killed in Ituri. [2]

In mid-January, CODECO sought revenge for an attack on a Lendu teacher by the newly established Zaire militia, a rival to CODECO. [3] [4]

Massacres

Reports emerged of attacks by CODECO on villages near Bunia during the weekend of January 14–15, 2023, prompting MONUSCO to dispatch a patrol to the area. [3] When the peacekeepers arrived at the village of Nyabamba, they discovered the recently buried bodies of forty-two civilians. [5] Seven civilians were buried in the village of Mbogi, located thirty kilometers away. [5] [6] In the Nyabamba graves, twelve women and six children were among the victims. [5] The Mbogi graves consisted of seven men. [6]

Aftermath

Protests erupted across Ituri against MONUSCO following the attacks, as civilians saw the peacekeepers as not protecting them from CODECO. [7] In Goma, demonstrators protested against the East African Command for their inability to defend civilians against CODECO as well. [8] In Bunia, the city protested by holding a "dead city" for three days. [8] CODECO accused Zaire-FPAC of the massacres. [3]

On January 20, CODECO attacked the Plaine Savo camp and killed seven people, including five children. [1] Refugees in the camp then protested at the nearby MONUSCO base. [1]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">MONUSCO</span> UN peacekeeping force in Democratic Republic of the Congo

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en République démocratique du Congo, is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was established by the United Nations Security Council in resolutions 1279 (1999) and 1291 (2000) to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War, though much of its focus subsequently turned to the Ituri conflict, the Kivu conflict and the Dongo conflict. The mission was known as the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo or MONUC, an acronym of its French name Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies en République démocratique du Congo, until 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nationalist and Integrationist Front</span>

The Nationalist and Integrationist Front is a rebel group active in the Ituri conflict in Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo, associated with the Lendu ethnic group. The FNI has fought against ethnic Hema and is blamed for the ambush and murder of nine United Nations peacekeepers near the town of Kafe in February 2005. FNI political leader Floribert Ndjabu was arrested by Congolese authorities, while military head Etienne Lona turned himself in.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ituri conflict</span> Subconflict of the Second Congo War

The Ituri conflict is an ongoing low intensity asymmetrical conflict between the agriculturalist Lendu and pastoralist Hema ethnic groups in the Ituri region of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While the two groups had fought since as early as 1972, the name "Ituri conflict" refers to the period of intense violence between 1999 and 2003. Armed conflict continues to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Artemis</span> 2003 European Union military operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 AFP, Staff Writer With (2023-01-20). "DRC Militia Kills 7, Sparks Backlash Against UN Peacekeepers". The Defense Post. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  2. ↑ "DR Congo emergency". UNHCR US. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  3. 1 2 3 "Dozens of bodies found in mass graves in DR Congo". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  4. ↑ "RDC-Ituri: Le groupe Zaïre/FPAC se transforme de plus en plus en un groupe armé organisé, avec un réseau de trafic d'armes en provenance d'Ouganda". Actualite.cd (in French). 2023-01-03. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  5. 1 2 3 "Mass graves found in eastern DR Congo: UN". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  6. 1 2 "UN peacekeepers find mass graves in eastern Congo". Reuters. January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  7. ↑ Serwat, Ladd (2023-02-03). "Regional Overview: Africa | January 2023". ACLED. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  8. 1 2 "Est de la RDC: une manifestation contre la force régionale violemment réprimée". Actualite.cd (in French). 2023-01-18. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
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