DRC: 158 killed in ethnic clashes in past 6 months

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo

At least 158 people have been killed and 205 others injured in clashes between the Pygmy and Bantu communities in the southeastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo since July 2016, a UN body told Anadolu Agency.

The United Nations Joint Office for Human Rights (UNJHRO) has identified at least "158 dead, 205 injured […] and 50 women victim of sexual violence in the conflict between Bantu and Pygmies since July 2016 in the Tanganyika province," Jose Maria Aranaz, director of the UNJHRO, told Anadolu Agency late Monday.

"Since Jan. 11, interethnic conflicts have left 24 dead and eight injured in the territory of [in Tanganyika Province]," added, expressing "deep concern" regarding the rise of violence between the two communities.

Since 2013 hundreds of clashes have taken place between the two ethnic groups, which have forced thousands of people to flee.

In 2015 at least 30 Pygmies were killed in an attack by members of the ethnic Bantu majority in the northern part of Katanga region, in southern DRC.

Local civil society organizations say the conflict is driven by inequalities between the two groups. Pygmies say they have been marginalized and discriminated against for decades by the Bantu population.

These interethnic tensions orchestrated by militiamen of both communities have caused considerable humanitarian damage.

"We have registered 41,250 displaced households since July 2016," Richard Kitangala, governor of Tanganyika Province, said.

The governor added that the conflict could potentially spread to "other provinces with catastrophic consequences".