Nine troops were killed over the weekend by West DR Congo militants, according to an army spokesman

In a province where there has been intercommunal violence over territory since 2022, a militia group in the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo killed nine troops in an army camp in a hamlet on Saturday, the army spokesman and the leader of a nearby village said on Monday.

The incident happened in Kwamouth area in Mai-Ndombe province, where the Yaka and the Teke, two competing communities, have been engaged in territorial conflicts along the Congo River.

The attack was carried out by fighters from the Mobondo militia, which is primarily Yaka. Kinsele is a community located about 130 kilometers northeast of Kinshasa, the country’s capital.
According to Congolese army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge, one of the soldier’s wives and 35 other attackers were also slain.

Five troops, a major, a lieutenant, two captains, and a local village leader reported that they had all been killed.

Stanys Libye stated, “They surprised the soldiers at their post at around 5 a.m.” “The military retaliated and some of the assailants were overpowered.”

Since it started in 2022, intercommunal violence in Kwamouth has claimed hundreds of lives on both sides and damaged infrastructure.

Despite a ceasefire deal signed in front of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi in April 2024 by the Mobondo and the traditional heads of Teke and Yaka, fighting has persisted.

The agreement has been disputed by a few traditional chiefs who claim it was exclusive.
Armed militias are another enemy that Congo is fighting in the east of the nation, where the M23 rebel group has been conducting a significant insurgency since 2022.