Started in the province of Mai-Ndombe last year from a land dispute between the Teke communities on the one hand and other communities including the Yaka, the violence is closer to the capital. Yaka insurgents invade villages in the commune of Maluku, Kinshasa, and attack members of the Teke community.
These last days have been marked in particular by the death of a customary chief and members of his family. A situation that worries one month before the holding of the Games of “Francophonie” and six months before the general elections.
The villages of Mbankana have experienced intense violence, resulting in the closure of schools and hospitals. The “Mobondo” militia has even taken control of some of the villages, resulting in fear and insecurity for residents.
Shotguns and machetes
Usually armed with shotguns and machetes, they say they want to hunt all members of the Teke community. Residents fled and mostly moved closer to the city.
In recent days, the police and the army have deployed in the heart of Mbankana or Dumi, bringing relative calm. The police and security forces managed to arrest some of the protagonists of this violence and repel others without managing to dislodge them from their main strongholds.
“Black Hand”
Certain politicians are accused by the Catholic Church of being behind this movement, causing the local population, who live mainly in agriculture, to be fearful to go to their fields and call for more in-depth patrols, even where the police and the army are present.