Gunmen attacked a village in western Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of at least 70 people, including nine soldiers and a soldier’s wife, according to local authorities. The village of Kinsele, located approximately 100 km east of the capital Kinshasa, was targeted in the assault. Due to security challenges and limited infrastructure in the area, reports of such deadly incidents can take days to emerge.
Kinsele is situated in Kwamouth territory, where a longstanding conflict between the Teke and Yaka communities has persisted for the past two years, claiming numerous civilian lives. Amid the DRC’s ongoing battles against armed groups in the east, violence has escalated in the west of the country as well.
The attackers were identified as members of the Mobondo militia, which portrays itself as the defender of the Yaka people. “As of Monday morning, 72 bodies have been recovered with the search for more ongoing in the bush,” stated David Bisaka, a local official from Kwamouth Territory, in an interview with The Associated Press.
Following the army’s successful repulsion of the militia for the second time in a week, security forces continue to search for casualties. The Mobondo militia had initially attempted an assault on the same village on Friday before the fatal attack on Saturday.
Among the casualties were nine soldiers and a woman, the wife of a soldier, as confirmed by Stanys Liby, the head of a nearby village, speaking to U.N.-funded Radio Okapi.
The conflict in Kwamouth territory erupted in June 2022 over land disputes and customary rights between the so-called “indigenous” Teke people and various other ethnic groups, including the more recently settled Yaka farmers along the Congo River. Despite a ceasefire brokered in April 2024 in the presence of Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi, clashes between the two communities have persisted and intensified in recent weeks, with the Congolese army struggling to quell the violence.
In addition to the ongoing conflict in the west, the DRC’s security forces are also grappling with escalating violence in the east of the country, where over 120 armed groups are vying for control of the region’s rich mineral resources, particularly gold.
The deterioration of security in the east has resulted in increased clashes between militias and government forces. Earlier this month, an attack by a militia on a gold mine in northeastern Congo claimed the lives of six Chinese miners and two Congolese soldiers, underscoring the precarious security situation in the region.