At least 32 civilians have been killed by rebel groups in eastern Congo’s Ituri province, said a spokesman for the United Nations.
Twenty people were killed by the militia group CODECO and a dozen were killed by the Allied Democratic Forces, which is allied to the Islamic State group, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a press conference on Monday. The killings come amid surging violence across eastern Congo, where conflict has been simmering for decades as more than 120 armed groups are fighting in the region, most for land and control of mines with valuable minerals, while some groups are trying to protect their communities.
Earlier this month one of the UN mission’s helicopters came under fire in North Kivu province, killing a South African peacekeeper and injuring another, said the UN. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. The United Nations Security Council said the deliberate targeting of peacekeepers could constitute war crimes.
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