Escalation of violence and abductions in Rutshuru
The security situation in the Rutshuru territory of North Kivu continues to deteriorate. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, June 24, at least ten people were kidnapped, two individuals were killed, and significant property was looted across the region. These incidents, spanning at least six different localities, highlight a worrying trend of highway robberies, armed home invasions, and clashes between rival groups.
Ambushes and kidnappings on major axes
On Wednesday morning, a series of abductions took place on the Kibirizi-Rwindi and Kibirizi-Kibingu roads. At least seven people, including three motorcycle taxi drivers and their passengers, were taken by unidentified attackers. Beyond the human toll, the assailants seized 18 packages of fish being transported from Vitshumbi.
This followed three other kidnappings on Tuesday. In Kiwanja, armed men broke into a home in the Buzito neighborhood to abduct two residents, while a third person was taken from the Majengo district in Kibirizi. On the same day, a commercial truck traveling the Kanyabayonga-Rwindi route was targeted. Gunmen opened fire to stop the vehicle, eventually making off with the entire cargo, though the driver survived the ordeal.
Civilian victims of armed clashes
The violence has also claimed innocent lives. In the village of Kiseguro, a 22-year-old woman and her child were killed by stray bullets during a fierce battle between AFC-M23 rebels and FDLR combatants. This tragedy underscores the daily peril faced by civilians caught in the middle of territorial conflicts.
Attacks on humanitarian workers
The humanitarian community is also mourning the loss of two Red Cross volunteers in South Kivu. The victims were killed on June 16 in the Walungu territory while supervising a drinking water project in the village of Kakumba. Edgard Mateso, the national president of the Red Cross in the DRC, condemned the attack as a grave violation of international humanitarian principles, emphasizing the constant risks encountered by those providing aid in the eastern part of the country.