Djugu territory | |
---|---|
![]() View of Lake Albert from Djugu territory | |
Coordinates: 1°55′58.8″N 30°28′58.8″E / 1.933000°N 30.483000°E | |
Government | |
• Territory administrator | Colonel Ruphin Mapela[1][2] |
Time zone | UTC+2 (CAT) |
Djugu territory (French: Territoire de Djugu) is a district of Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo.[3] Its capital is also named Djugu.
Armed conflict first appeared in Djugu in December 2017, resulting in the displacement of 20,000 people.[4][5][6] Since then 4,000 people have been killed by various armed organizations, including CODECO.[7]
In 2021, during an ongoing insurgency by Islamist rebels, Djugu fell into a humanitarian crisis. Since November 2021, rebels have attacked several separate IDP sites, including Drodro, a camp for internally displaced people,[8][9] resulting in heavy casualties. At least 58 civilians were killed since October.[10] On 2 February 2022, a CODECO attack killed over 60 people. A few weeks later, CODECO slew 18 people in the village of Banyali Kilo.[11]
600,000 people living in Djugu territory are IDPs, 85,000 of whom became displaced in 2021.[10]
In March 2023, CODECO abducted and killed 17 people who were driving on a road in Djugu.[12] On February 14th 2024, CODECO killed at least 12 people, and kidnapped another 16 near a gold mine in Djugu.[13][14] Later in the same week on February 17th, another 15 people were killed on a road near the village of Tali.[1]