Surge in Codeco raids in DRC's Ituri worsen humanitarian crisis
Congolese children run after a UN armoured personnel carrier at Rhoe IDP camp in Djugu, Ituri province on April 20, 2023.Codeco raids have worsened a longstanding humanitarian crisis in Ituri Province where some 3 million people are in desperate need of aid. PHOTO | PAUL LORGERIE | REUTERS
One month since rebels closed in on Drodro village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the once bustling wards of its hospital are empty and Dr James Semire strolls the darkened corridors wondering when patients will dare to return.
The community is one of many in Ituri Province's Djugu territory that has seen a surge in attacks by the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo armed group (Codeco), with around 550,000 people forced to flee their homes between January and March, according to UN data.
