On Saturday, 17 individuals were taken hostage by CODECO (Cooperative for the Development of Congo) militiamen in the Djugu territory of the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. All 17 hostages were executed on Sunday.
A local leader told the media that they were traveling in vehicles from Bunia to the mining town of Mongbwalu before being ambushed.
The hostages were executed on Sunday at Pechi village, said another local chief who was alerted by the families of some of the victims.
A resident of Bambu told the press that the hostage-taking took place after three CODECO militiamen were killed in an ambush by a rival militia in that locality.
Conflicts between community militias in the DRC are not new. The deadly conflict in Ituri between Hema and Lendu resumed in late 2017. This type of conflict caused thousands of deaths between 1999 and 2003.