Mukondi massacre
Mukondi massacre | |
---|---|
Part of Kivu conflict | |
Location | Mukondi, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Date | March 8–9, 2023 |
Deaths | 39+[1] 36 (per regional governor)[2] 44 (per local groups)[2] |
Injured | Unknown |
Perpetrator | ![]() |
During 8–9 March 2023, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) carried out a massacre in the village of Mukondi in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[3]
Background
[edit]The ADF is a Ugandan Islamist group who in 1996 began their insurgency, including a massacre in 1998 in Kabarole District in the Western Region, Uganda. They later spread to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing thousands of civilians, including a massacre in Beni in 2016.[3] Since the late 2010s, the ADF are aligned with Islamic State.[3] In North Kivu, in the northeast of the DRC, in January 2023, the ADF carried out massacres in Kasindi and Makugwe.
Massacre
[edit]During the night of 8–9 March 2023, the ADF used machetes to carry out a massacre in Mukondi, a village in North Kivu.[3] Locals claimed that the attackers "came in a group, like visitors", until they began attacking people with machetes.[4] The assailants attacked while villagers were celebrating International Women's Day, using machetes to kill over 30 people in Mukondi before killing several others in the nearby village of Mausa.[3][5] The ADF also set fire to 15 houses and a clinic.[3] Seventeen people were taken to hospital.[3] Initially, the provincial governor of Kivu region Carly Nsanzu Kasivita gave a death toll of 36, while local sources put it at 44.[6]
According to local officials, the death toll rose to over 39 killed in the following days, with a large amount injured.[5] Some residents of Mukondi returned after the attack.[5] Congolese army spokesman Anthony Mualushayi stated that the Mukondi attack was carried out in reprisal to a Congolese operation arresting 22 ADF militants and pharmacies allegedly supplying them with bomb-making chemicals.[6]
The Islamic State, which the ADF is a part of, released a statement claiming responsibility for the attacking and claiming it killed "Christians".[7] Mukondi chief Deogratias Kasereka claimed that per modus operandi of the ADF, no guns were used in the attack.[4]
See also
[edit]- 2020 Democratic Republic of the Congo attacks
- 2021–2022 Democratic Republic of the Congo attacks
- Kivu conflict
References
[edit]- ^ Kambale, Erikas Mwisi (11 March 2023). "Survivors of deadly raid in east Congo return to torched village". Reuters.
- ^ a b Mwisi, Erikas (10 March 2023). "Islamist militants kill at least 35 in east Congo village, army says". Reuters.
- ^ a b c d e f g Desolation in east DR Congo village after ADF attack
- ^ a b AfricaNews (2023-03-11). "Survivors of hacking attack recount ordeal at the hands of ADF militia". Africanews. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
- ^ a b c Kambale, Erikas Mwisi (2023-03-11). "Survivors of deadly raid in east Congo return to torched village". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
- ^ a b Mwisi, Erikas (2023-03-10). "Islamist militants kill at least 35 in east Congo village, army says". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
- ^ "IS group says it killed more than 35 'Christians' in Congo". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
- 2023 murders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- 2020s massacres in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- March 2023 crimes in Africa
- March 2023 events in Africa
- Islamic terrorist incidents in 2023
- Massacres in 2023
- Massacres of Christians
- Persecution of Christians by ISIL
- Allied Democratic Forces
- North Kivu
- Kivu conflict
- African history stubs
- Democratic Republic of the Congo stubs
- Massacre stubs