At least 13 people were killed in an eastern Democratic Republic of Congo displacement camp on Wednesday night, according to local officials. Five others were wounded in the attack on Kisimba in North Kivu province’s Masisi territory.
The Red Cross provided the same death toll. Pro-Hutu Nyatura militiamen are believed to be responsible for the attack. Armed groups have affected much of eastern DRC for thirty years, as a result of regional wars in the 1990s and 2000s. M23, one militia, has captured sections of North Kivu territory since resuming arms in 2021, displacing over a million people.
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An East African regional military force has assumed some areas previously occupied by the group since December. Nonetheless, the Tutsi-led rebels are still present in North Kivu, occasionally clashing with rival militias.
Congo alleges its smaller central African neighbor, Rwanda, backs the M23, a claim that Rwanda has repeatedly denied. United States and French officials and United Nations experts, however, back the accusation. AFP was unable to confirm either the death toll or the attackers’ motive.
