A new outbreak of violence has shaken Butembo, where two factions of Wazalendo militiamen (name given to local militias maintained by Congolese authorities) clashed on the night of March 3 to 4. The provisional toll is ten dead and several injured, while the local population lives in fear in the face of this persistent insecurity.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

At least ten militiamen were killed during intense clashes that occurred between the night of Monday March 3 and the morning of Tuesday March 4 in Butembo, in the province of North Kivu in eastern Congo.

According to the civil society in Kimemi, one of the city’s neighborhoods, these clashes pitted two factions of Wazalendo militiamen against each other. The clashes broke out between midnight and 3 a.m. in the Mount Tabor area, located on the concession of the Catholic University of Graben (UCG), as well as in Mavina, in the Malende district.

A deadly rivalry

According to information reported by the local civil society, the group based in Mavina launched an attack against the group based in Tabor, in retaliation for the burning of their camp the day before.

The provisional toll indicates that ten militiamen were killed and several injured, treated in health facilities in the region. Bodies of the victims were found abandoned near the UCG site, causing great concern among residents.

“Four lifeless bodies were discovered this morning. They are believed to be young militiamen from the Mavina group. They had been tied up before being executed,” a resident testified on social media, where shocking images of the scene have been widely circulated.

A terrorized population

These clashes have plunged inhabitants of the surrounding neighborhoods, including Vutsundo, Vusenzera, Katsya, Vukondi and Nduko, into great panic. The tension is exacerbated by the fear of an advance by the M23 rebels towards Butembo, reinforcing the anxiety of local populations, already tested by the persistent instability.

A situation denounced

For the civil society of Kimemi, this new escalation of violence is « one clash too many ». Jackson Bwahasa, its spokesperson, castigates the inaction of local authorities, whom he accuses of having allowed the situation to deteriorate.

« This rivalry constitutes a permanent threat to the safety of inhabitants and patients treated in health facilities of the area », he deplores. He criticizes the authorities for remaining passive in the face of these recurring clashes in the heart of the city, while these militiamen should be confined to the front line.

Faced with this resurgence of violence, the Kimemi civil society calls on local authorities to track down these militiamen and asks the Catholic Church to intervene to expel them from the UCG concession in order to restore security. However, no official reaction from the authorities has yet been recorded regarding these events.

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CODECO militiamen in Ituri (SOS Médias Burundi)