AFRICA/D.R. CONGO - Violence in the east of the country: the statistics hide innocent victims

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - "These are arid numbers that hide people, innocent victims", said the Congo Peace Network, promoted by missionaries operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in a commentary on reports by the United Nations and local NGOs on the crimes against the civilian population in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In its report published on February 11, 2021 including data collected between January and December 2020, the United Nations Joint Committee on Human Rights (BCNUDH) stated that, in the territories of Beni (North Kivu), Irumu and Mambasa (Ituri ), the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group of Ugandan origin, carried out 166 attacks and killed at least 849 civilians. The report found that during the same period at least 108 civilians were victims of violations of the right to physical integrity, for which the ADF is also held responsible, including 103 injured and 5 women victims of sexual abuse. Furthermore, the BCNUDH documented the kidnapping of at least 77 people, including 20 women and 3 minors who were later released. In February 2021, BCNUDH documented a total of 495 cases of human rights violations on Congolese territory. 65% of these violations were committed by militiamen from armed groups and 35% by state security officers (army and police). These violations resulted in the deaths of at least 197 civilians, including 23 women and 12 children. Armed groups were held responsible for the arbitrary execution of at least 175 people, including 22 women and 9 children, while security forces were also held responsible for the extrajudicial execution of at least 22 people, including 1 woman and 5 children.
In a report published on March 5, 2021 covering the period from February 1 to 28, 2021, the Beni Peace Forum (FPB), based in North Kivu, reported that 105 people were killed and 34 people kidnapped, of whom only 13 have been released so far.
Most of the crimes were committed in the Beni region (North Kivu) and, to a lesser extent, in Ituri. According to the FPB, "we can name various reasons why the ADF can continue to carry out these massacres and human rights violations: the alarms sent to them by the population are not taken seriously by the security forces, the relaxation of military action against the ADF and the and the demotivation of soldiers due to the diversion of their unpaid salaries, etc.". To put an end to the violence, the FPB asks the Chief of Staff of the State Army (FARDC) to replace the soldiers who have been in action for a long time without having achieved positive results.
According to a report published on February 22, 2021 by the Kivu Security Tracker (KST), there are 122 armed groups in the east of the DRC, particularly in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Tanganyika. Some armed groups also operate in two or three provinces at the same time.
The KST names the four largest armed groups are: the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the Alliance of Patriots for a Free and Sovereign Congo (APCLS) and the Nduma Defense for Congo (NDC-R).
Recently the Congolese Bishops (see Fides Fides, 9/4/2021) issued a joint appeal calling for an end to the violence in the east of the country. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 17/4/2021)

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