At Least 69 Killed in Clashes Between CODECO and CRP Militias in DRC's Ituri Province

Armed rebels killed at least 69 people in attacks across several villages in Ituri province in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on April 28, security officials said. The assailants were affiliated with the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) coalition of militia groups, which claims to protect the Lendu community.

The strikes came in retaliation for an earlier assault by the Convention for the Popular Revolution (CRP) on positions held by the Congolese army (FARDC) near the locality of Pimbo.

CRP says it fights for the Hema community. More than 70 people were killed when CODECO fighters launched the retaliatory attacks in late April, civil society leader Dieudonne Losa told AFP. One security source stated a death toll of at least 69, including 19 militia members and soldiers.

The presence of CODECO fighters delayed the recovery of the bodies for several days. Only 25 bodies have been buried, Losa said on Saturday. Several sets of remains had yet to be recovered as of May 9, 2026.

A humanitarian source described bodies strewn on the ground near the village of Bassa, one of the areas targeted. Ituri province borders Uganda and South Sudan. The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) rescued nearly 200 people caught under fire from the CRP assault on the FARDC.

MONUSCO made the rescue statement on April 30. On Saturday, MONUSCO said it strongly condemns the recent wave of deadly attacks targeting civilians in the restive east. The Ente association, a nonprofit representing the Hema community, described the killings as a massacre and urged its members to avoid retaliation.

Since early 2025, Ituri has seen a resurgence of the CRP, a group founded by Thomas Lubanga. Thomas Lubanga was found guilty in 2012 by the International Criminal Court for recruiting children into his rebel army. He was released in 2020 on completion of his prison sentence.

Fighting between the CRP, the Congolese army, and CODECO has been marked by widespread abuses and killings of civilians. For more than 30 years, the mineral-rich eastern DRC has been a battleground for various armed groups vying for control of its many mines. Two ethnic groups – the Hema and the Lendu – have been locked in a long-running violent conflict in Ituri, a gold-rich province.

Al Jazeera reported that the former Belgian colony has long been beset by corruption and bloodshed.