Pygmy and Luba Militias Kill, Kidnap Civilians in the Congo

The widespread killing and displacement of civilians by ethnic militia in northern Katanga, in southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, shows the urgent need for the government to protect civilians. The government should act to address the sources of violence in the region. 

Human Rights Watch interviewed survivors of one of the worst recent incidents, on April 30, 2015, when ethnic Luba fighters attacked a camp for displaced people outside the town of Nyunzu. The assailants burned the camp to the ground and killed at least 30 men, women, and children from the marginalized Batwa community, known as “Pygmy,” with machetes, arrows, and axes. Dozens of others are missing and feared dead.