At least 30 civilians killed in eastern Congo village attack

S uspected militants killed at least 30 civilians on Friday in a village raid in Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeastern Ituri province, the head of a civil society group and a local resident said.
Army spokesperson Jules Ngongo Tshikudi confirmed the morning attack in Banyali Kilo, a district in conflict-riven Ituri, but did not give a death toll as he said the armed forces were still searching the area.
“They set fire to several houses, looted property … and killed around 30 people, both men and women,” said local civil society president Charite Banza.
The government declared a state of siege in Ituri and neighbouring North Kivu province in 2021, in an attempt to stem rampant militia violence in the country’s vast mineral-rich east. But the killings and rebel activity have not shown any sign of abating.