January 2020 Oicha massacres
Massacre in the DR Congo by the Islamic State
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Between January 28 and 30, 2020, the Islamic State – Central Africa Province (ISCAP) killed at least seventy-three people in a series of massacres in Oicha Territory, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The attacks spanned across several towns, especially Mantumbi, Manzingi, and Mamove.
ISCAP| January 2020 Oicha massacres | |
|---|---|
| Part of Kivu conflict and Allied Democratic Forces insurgency | |
| Location | Mamove, Mantumbi, Manzingi, and other towns west of Oicha, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Date | January 28–30, 2020 |
| Deaths | 73+ |
| Perpetrator | ISCAP |
Prelude
The Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan jihadist group based in the DRC's North Kivu region, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2017 following a shortage of funds. The group renamed to the Islamic State – Central Africa Province (ISCAP), and began killings of civilians across North Kivu.[1] The Ugandan and Congolese militaries launched an operation in 2019 to expel ISCAP from the areas, with some success.[2] On December 29, 2019, ISCAP killed eighteen people in the town of Apetina-Sana in North Kivu.[3]
Massacre
The first attacks began in Manzingi and Eringeti on January 28, when ISCAP fighters killed fifteen people and injured six others.[2][4]
Further attacks began in Mayimoya on January 29, along the road. People fled the town as the ISCAP fighters pushed into it.[5] They then rampaged through Mamove around 3pm on January 30, killing six civilians, and burning houses and motorcycles.[6] The towns of Aveli, Mantumbi, and Mulolya were attacked as well.[7] In Mantumbi, fourteen people were killed by the jihadists, and a taxi driver was killed in Aveli.[6][8] Three people were killed in Mulolya.[6]
Ten more bodies were found in Mantumbi on January 31, bringing the town's death toll to twenty-three.[9] Most of the victims were hacked to death by machete, the modus operandi of ISCAP.[9]
Aftermath
The death toll of the attacks, which spanned forty-eight hours, was seventy-three.[9] The Beni Civil Society sounded the alarm of a high number of ISCAP operatives in Mamove and Mantumbi following the attacks.[10]
Seven people were killed in a second attack by Mai-Mai militiamen in Mamove on January 31.[11]