UN Chief Condemns Attacks On Savo Camp For IDPs In Congo—-UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, on Thursday strongly condemned the attacks by Coopérative pour le développement du Congo (CODECO) militias on the Savo camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The attacks left at least 58 civilians dead and 36 others injured.
The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) deployed a patrol to the site and exchanged fire with the assailants.
The mission conducted joint operations with the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) into the morning hours of Feb. 2, pushing the assailants out of the area and securing the site to prevent further attacks.
“The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a swift recovery to the injured,’’ Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the secretary-general, said in a statement.
“He calls on the Congolese authorities to investigate these incidents and bring those responsible to justice, noting the reprehensible nature of these attacks on a site where civilians who had already been displaced by conflict had sought protection and humanitarian assistance.’’
According to him, the secretary-general reiterates that the United Nations, through his Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will continue to support the Congolese Government and people in their efforts to bring about peace and stability.
In a separate statement, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) expressed their horror at Tuesday’s attack.
IOM and UNHCR teams in Ituri are coordinating with other humanitarian actors to scale up emergency response.
The site, which is managed by UNHCR and partner CARITAS, hosted more than 20,000 displaced people, including more than 13,000 children. Many of the site’s residents have fled to Bule town, three kilometers away
