24 killed in Congo attack

WORLD, Jan. 10 (YPA) – At least 24 civilians were shot dead by gunmen who attacked several villages in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Ituri district.

According to Agence France-Presse, local sources said the attackers belonged to the CODECO militants, which says it takes up arms in defense of ethnic Lendu.

It said the gunmen carried out the attacks in retaliation for the killing of a teacher from the Lendu ethnicity on Sunday morning by gunmen from the Zaire militia, which says it is defending ethnic Hema.

A humanitarian worker in the area also said 16 bodies had been discovered in the wake of the attack.

The fighters torched houses in three separate villages and looted their properties.

The death toll is expected to rise as “other villages remain inaccessible”.

E.M