The United Nations mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO) on Monday, August 7, foiled an attack on a hospital near a camp for displaced people in Drodro, Ituri province. The attack by the CODECO militia was thwarted by the Bangladeshi peacekeepers based in Drodro, Djugu territory, the UN mission said on Wednesday. ALSO READ: DR Congo militia massacre 45 in Ituri Several displaced persons from the Drodro site fled the camp and found refuge inside the MONUSCO base in Drodro. The troops were alerted of the attack and “immediately deployed on the spot and routed the attackers, thus securing the hospital and all the patients,” MONUSCO said. #Thread#ProtectionDesCivils Les casques bleus du contingent bangladais de la #MONUSCO ont repoussé une incursion de la milice Codeco contre l’hôpital de Drodro, dans le territoire de Djugu, en #Ituri, dans la nuit du 7 août. pic.twitter.com/8pUlrytlug — MONUSCO (@MONUSCO) August 8, 2023 Earlier on Monday, the UN mission and the DR Congo army had repelled another CODECO attack in Largu, forcing the militia elements to withdraw. “Unfortunately, during this attack, three people were killed and three others injured,” said MONUSCO, adding that patrols have been intensified to ensure the protection of civilians. ALSO READ: Lay down arms, all DR Congo militias warned ALSO READ: Museveni blames DR Congo crisis on ‘illegal guns since independence’ In June, the CODECO militia was responsible for an attack that killed at least 45 civilians in Djugu. Ituri is one of the three provinces in eastern DR Congo that have been ravaged by militia violence for nearly 30 years. The province is also home to the Islamic State-linked ADF armed group, which is responsible for multiple massacres. In July, armed violence claimed the lives of at least 49 civilians in the Djugu, Irumu and Mambasa territories, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Eastern DR Congo is home to more than 130 local and foreign armed groups, responsible for various atrocities and rights violations. Multiple international and regional interventions have failed to end the decades of violence.
