46 People, Including Children, Killed in Congo Attack

By Staff, Agencies

At least 46 people, half of whom are children, were killed in a militia attack on a camp for displaced people in the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC], security analysts and a local community leader said on Monday.

Richard Dheda, an official of the local administration for Bahema Badjere in Djugu territory, told AFP that a militia group involved in numerous ethnic killings in the area attacked the camp in northeastern Ituri province overnight from Sunday to Monday.

The Kivu Security Tracker [KST], a network of observers based in DRC's east, recorded "at least 46" dead in the Lala camp.

Desire Malodra, a community leader, gave the same number, highlighting that 23 of the killed were children. He noted that the toll was still provisional as "the search continues" for victims.

"They began to fire shots, many people were burned to death in their homes, others were killed by machete," Malodra said.

The Lala camp for displaced people is five kilometers from Bule, the site of a UN peacekeeper base.