January 2020 Oicha massacres

January 2020 Oicha massacres
Part of Kivu conflict and Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
LocationMamove, Mantumbi, Manzingi, and other towns west of Oicha, Democratic Republic of the Congo
DateJanuary 28–30, 2020
Deaths73+
Perpetrator Islamic State - Central Africa Province (formerly Allied Democratic Forces)

Between January 28 and 30, 2020, the Islamic State – Central Africa Province (ISCAP) killed at least seventy-three people in a series of massacres in Oicha Territory, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The attacks spanned across several towns, especially Mantumbi, Manzingi, and Mamove.

Prelude

The Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan jihadist group based in the DRC's North Kivu region, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2017 following a shortage of funds. The group renamed to the Islamic State – Central Africa Province (ISCAP), and began killings of civilians across North Kivu.[1] The Ugandan and Congolese militaries launched an operation in 2019 to expel ISCAP from the areas, with some success.[2] On December 29, 2019, ISCAP killed eighteen people in the town of Apetina-Sana in North Kivu.[3]

Massacre

The first attacks began in Manzingi and Eringeti on January 28, when ISCAP fighters killed fifteen people and injured six others.[2][4]

Further attacks began in Mayimoya on January 29, along the road. People fled the town as the ISCAP fighters pushed into it.[5] They then rampaged through Mamove around 3pm on January 30, killing six civilians, and burning houses and motorcycles.[6] The towns of Aveli, Mantumbi, and Mulolya were attacked as well.[7] In Mantumbi, fourteen people were killed by the jihadists, and a taxi driver was killed in Aveli.[6][8] Three people were killed in Mulolya.[6]

Ten more bodies were found in Mantumbi on January 31, bringing the town's death toll to twenty-three.[9] Most of the victims were hacked to death by machete, the modus operandi of ISCAP.[9]

Aftermath

The death toll of the attacks, which spanned forty-eight hours, was seventy-three.[9] The Beni Civil Society sounded the alarm of a high number of ISCAP operatives in Mamove and Mantumbi following the attacks.[10]

Seven people were killed in a second attack by Mai-Mai militiamen in Mamove on January 31.[11]

Videography

References

  1. ^ "Rumble In The Jungle: ISCAP's Rising Threat". Hoover Institution. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  2. ^ a b "Dozens killed by suspected rebels in eastern DRC's Beni region". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  3. ^ "Incident Summary for GTDID: 201912300005". www.start.umd.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  4. ^ "Incident Summary for GTDID: 202001290005". www.start.umd.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  5. ^ "RDC-Beni : Mayimoya de nouveau sous les tirs". Actualite.cd (in French). 2020-01-30. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  6. ^ a b c "RDC : Nouvelles attaques rebelles à Beni, 21 morts (Sté civile)". Actualite.cd (in French). 2020-01-30. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  7. ^ "DRC: New rebel attacks in Beni, 21 dead (Sté Civil)". Actualite. January 30, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  8. ^ "Beni : 14 morts, nouveau bilan de l'attaque à Mantumbi". Actualite.cd (in French). 2019-12-06. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  9. ^ a b c "RDC : le bilan du massacre de Matumbi revu à la hausse, 23 morts". Actualite.cd (in French). 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  10. ^ "RDC-Beni: 32 villages attaqués en moins de deux mois". Actualite.cd (in French). 2020-02-04. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  11. ^ "RDC-Beni :7 morts et plusieurs blessés, dans une nouvelle attaque". Actualite.cd (in French). 2020-02-01. Retrieved 2024-02-18.