Uvira: Two killed as armed attacks surge

Two people were killed and one shot dead in Uvira in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo on Monday evening in another armed attack. While people live in fear, voices are being raised against the uncontrolled circulation of weapons distributed to unsupervised civilians. NGOs are calling for urgent disarmament in an increasingly alarming security context.

Two people were killed and a third seriously injured on Monday evening in Uvira, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in a new armed attack in the Kabindula district, Kalundu commune. The unidentified assailants opened fire around 9 p.m., according to information gathered locally.

A member of local civil society stated that the victims were a woman and a young man. “Three people were shot: two died instantly and the third was transferred to the general hospital for treatment,” he said.

This tragedy is part of a series of similar attacks that have plunged Uvira into a spiral of violence for several weeks. Just last week, four more people were killed in comparable circumstances. These episodes fuel a climate of widespread insecurity and deep concern among the population.

Local NGOs point to the uncontrolled circulation of firearms in the hands of civilians. They call on the Congolese authorities to launch an urgent disarmament campaign.
“These weapons distributed without supervision are now used to kill,” laments a human rights activist in Uvira.

The resurgence of violence comes in an explosive context. Last January, residents of Uvira demonstrated to demand arms to defend themselves against the incursions of the M23 rebels. In response, the Government had, in February, authorized the distribution of weapons to some civilians, without providing them with any military training.

As a result, many of these weapons are now diverted from their original purpose and are used to commit criminal acts – from robberies to targeted assassinations.

This is despite the presence of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), Burundian troops deployed as part of regional security cooperation, as well as pro-government militias such as the Wazalendo. The exasperated local population calls for a coherent security response and immediate disarmament of armed civilians.