A wave of coordinated attacks by rebel fighters has killed at least 69 people in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Security officials confirmed the CODECO militia carried out the late April assault in the country’s restive northeast. This mineral-rich region remains a primary battleground for armed groups seeking control over gold and other valuable resources.
Retaliatory Cycles of Violence
The killings reportedly stemmed from an earlier clash involving the Convention for the Popular Revolution (CRP). This Hema-affiliated group recently attacked Congolese army (FARDC) positions near the locality of Pimbo. CODECO fighters, who claim to represent the mainly farming Lendu community, responded with a series of retaliatory strikes across several villages. The violence underscores the long-running ethnic conflict between the Lendu and the mainly pastoral Hema community in a province that borders Uganda and South Sudan.
Recovery Efforts Hampered by Insecurity
The presence of armed militants forced a delay in recovering the deceased for several days. “Only 25 bodies have been buried,” said civil society leader Dieudonne Losa. He noted that “more than 70 people were killed” in the late April raids, and several remains have yet to be retrieved. A humanitarian source described the grim scene as bodies “strewn on the ground” near the village of Bassa. While security sources put the toll at 69—including 19 militia members and soldiers—local officials suggest the count is higher.
International Response and Condemnation
The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) rescued “nearly 200 people caught under fire” during the initial CRP assault on the FARDC. On Saturday, the mission stated it “strongly condemns the recent wave of deadly attacks targeting civilians” in the east. Supporting this alarm, UN spokesman Farhan Haq confirmed in a May 8 briefing that at least 34 civilians were killed in a three-day window across Ituri and North Kivu. Haq noted that “dozens of civilians have been killed in recent days” and highlighted the dire humanitarian toll, as the violence continues to drive massive displacement across the northern parts of the eastern DRC. Meanwhile, the Ente association described the killings as a “massacre” and urged Hema community members to avoid further retaliation.
Historical Roots of Mineral Conflict
For over 30 years, the former Belgian colony has suffered from corruption and bloodshed linked to its vast mineral wealth. The region produces significant global supplies of cobalt, copper, uranium, and diamonds. This resource abundance continues to fund various militia groups and fuel a humanitarian crisis that has displaced nearly one million people in Ituri alone, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Resurgence of Notorious Warlords
The province has seen a 2025 resurgence of the CRP, a group founded by Thomas Lubanga. Lubanga was found guilty in 2012 by the International Criminal Court for recruiting children into his rebel army and was released in 2020. Fighting between his forces, the national army, and CODECO has been defined by widespread civilian abuses. Paradoxically, the Congolese army sometimes uses CODECO as an auxiliary force despite the group’s history of violence.
Overstretched Security Forces
The Congolese military faces a complex security landscape involving the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which has roots in Uganda and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019. Rawya Rageh of Amnesty International noted that “there are multiple challenges facing the Congolese authorities” because “there are multiple competing actors – M23, ADF, CODECO.” She explained that “most of the forces are overstretched responding to the threat from M23,” a Rwanda-backed rebel group that has seized key cities in the eastern region.
Escalating Regional Instability and ADF Abuses
The ADF has intensified its brutal campaign, killing at least 40 people and looting homes in a cross-border rampage across Ituri and North Kivu between Wednesday and Thursday. Charité Banza, leader of the Ituri civil society group, confirmed that 15 victims were murdered in Ituri while 25 were killed in the Beni territory of North Kivu—a grim surge following a July 2025 “bloodbath” that claimed 66 lives. Despite the joint deployment of Ugandan and Congolese troops since 2021, Amnesty International’s Rawya Rageh warns that “entire areas that are emptied of troops that have been diverted to other front lines” allow rebels to “capitalise on security gaps.” As local officials fear the death toll will rise with many residents still missing, the vacuum created by overstretched security forces continues to leave civilian populations completely vulnerable to these lethal incursions.
Findings of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity
In a landmark report, Amnesty International has formally accused the ADF of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Secretary-General Agnes Callamard stated these “abuses constitute war crimes which the world must not continue to ignore.” The group is accused of systematic kidnappings, forced labour, and recruiting child soldiers. Furthermore, the report documented horrific “crimes against women and girls, including forced marriage, forced pregnancy and various other forms of sexual violence.”
Continental Stakes and African Solidarity
The instability in the DRC remains a focal point for the African Union and regional bodies like the East African Community. For nations like Ghana, which has a long history of contributing to UN peacekeeping missions, the deteriorating situation in Ituri represents a challenge to the “African solutions to African problems” doctrine. The persistent presence of foreign-affiliated groups like the ADF threatens to destabilise not just the Congo but the entire Great Lakes region.
A Call for Sustained African Leadership
The latest massacre in Ituri underscores the fragility of peace in one of Africa’s most resource-rich zones. True stability will require more than military intervention; it demands a unified continental approach to resource governance and ethnic reconciliation. As the DRC moves deeper into 2026, the priority must remain on protecting African lives and ensuring that the nation’s wealth benefits its people rather than fueling perpetual militia warfare.
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