At least twenty-three people were killed in different attacks by the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) province of Ituri. Intelligence reveals that in three days, the civilians were killed in several localities in the chiefdom of Banyali Tchabi, the territory of Irumu.
The attacks which are consistent with the MO of ISCAP in the region included knives, firearms as well as arson. The victims were either brutally stabbed or shot in a region that has become the center stage for various rebel groups. The continued violence has triggered a mass exodus of residents from the villages which has since, in turn, allowed the expansion of the group’s violence and ‘territory’.
Violence in DRC has increased with ISCAP’s attacks guided by the psychological warfare the group perpetrates from having ISIS-Central support. This has elicited fear among the residents as compared to other rebel groups active in the region. ISCAP continues to be a major source of violence, displacement of people despite North Kivu and Ituri province having significant UN peacekeepers and Congolese military presence.
