At least 13 killed in attack at Congo gold quarry

Unidentified militiamen killed at least 13 people in an overnight attack on a gold quarry in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, an army spokesperson and a civil society leader said.

The attack took place late on Monday at the privately owned Shaba mining quarry in Aru territory, near the Ugandan border in Ituri province, said Dieudonne Lossa, president of Ituri province civil society.

He said that two armed groups are active in the area: the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO), and a rival militia called Zaire. They are among dozens of militias operating in Congo’s conflict-ridden east.

Lossa previously blamed CODECO, which claims to defend the interests of Lendu farmers against Hema herders, for a separate attack that killed at least 14 people in a church in Ituri province on Sunday.

Read more: Mining Weekly