20 Killed in Ethnic Violence in Western DRC
At least 20 people were slain this week in an attack in western DR Congo, where ethnic conflict has been raging for months, according to local officials.
At least 20 people were slain this week in an attack in western DR Congo, where ethnic conflict has been raging for months, according to local officials.
The slaughter occurred at the village of Boku in Kwamouth, a district of the Mai-Ndombe province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo where Yaka and Teke people have been fighting since June.
Monday, unidentified attackers armed with weapons attacked the Teke village, according to Nkete Mboma Butu, a spokesman of Kwamouth’s civil society.
He stated that twenty individuals perished in the attack.
Butu adds, “The villagers defended themselves with machetes.” There were fatalities on both sides.
However, provincial deputy Moise Makami Muzik estimated the death toll at 35 and told local reporters on Tuesday that the Kinshasa government was oblivious to the conflict.
AFP was unable to confirm the death toll independently.
More than 180 people have been killed in the fighting, the DRC authorities reported last month. According to the UN, tens of thousands have been displaced.
Additionally, sixteen individuals were slain in an incident in Mai-Ndombe last week.
According to provincial officials, the conflict was initially sparked by a dispute over land and taxes.
