UN strengthens peacekeeping presence around attacked Camp in DR Congo

New York [US], February 4 (ANI/Sputnik): The United Nations has strengthened the presence of peacekeepers under the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in an area where a camp for displaced persons is located after a recent deadly attack that claimed 60 lives, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said.
On Wednesday, militants from the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) militia group, armed with machetes and other weapons, attacked civilians in the Savo displacement camp in Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), leaving 58 civilians killed and 36 injured.
"UN peacekeepers are continuing to conduct robust patrols in the area. They have also reinforced their temporary operating base in the area with troops from Bunia [city in Ituri Province]. These additional troops will focus on providing security around the Savo site for displaced people -- the one attacked earlier this week," Haq told a briefing on Thursday.
Haq noted that the Savo camp hosted more than 20,000 displaced people, including more than 13,000 children.
The DRC is currently facing a variety of rebel and militant groups operating in the eastern part of the country. CODECO operates in the province of Ituri with its militia composed of representatives of the Lendu people.
The agricultural Lendu and pastoralist Hema ethnic groups in Ituri have been fighting each other over the scarcity of land for decades. (ANI/Sputnik)