Fighters from the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) militia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) attacked and killed at least 20 civilians in a village in Ituri province. The militia attacked a Hema village in Ituri province at night with machetes killing indiscriminately.
According to preliminary intelligence, the militants attacked the village killing victims of are of all ages, children, youths, women, and old men, killed by machete, by knife or by firearm. The indiscriminate killings have been on the rise in recent weeks as the country battles a health crisis brought about the global Coronavirus and another wave of Ebola in the region.
CODECO members are mainly drawn from the Lendu ethnic group, who are predominantly farmers and clash repeatedly with the Hema community of traders and herders in Ituri. CODECO split into several competing factions after the Congolese army killed its leader Justin Ngudjolo in late March.
