SUMMARY
The violence in Ituri province, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire), has deep historical roots in ethnic tensions between the Hema and Lendu communities, primarily related to land ownership and access to resources. Major outbreaks occurred in 1972, 1985, and between 1999 and 2003, during which time ethnic violence escalated into a localized war. After a period of relative calm, fighting resumed in December 2017, triggered by the suspicious death of Father Florent Dhunji, a Lendu priest, which was blamed on the Hema. This event reignited community-level grievances and provoked retaliatory attacks. A key actor in the renewed violence was the URDPC, a Lendu militia group. After the death of its leader, Justin Ngudjolo, in March 2020, the URDPC fragmented into multiple factions, all colloquially referred to as CODECO. One of the most violent among them was CODECO–Bon Temple de Dieu (CODECO-BTD), which conducted systematic attacks on Hema civilians and displaced populations in Djugu territory.
CODECO-BTD attacks was framed within a narrative of ethnic self-defense and reclaiming access to ancestral land and resources. Internal testimonies suggested that some of their violence has been justified by leaders and fighters as retaliation for historic land dispossession and marginalization by the Hema community. In several incidents, such as the killing of civilians at roadblocks or in their homes, the assailants accused victims of being collaborators or “enemies” of the Lendu people. For example, a survivor of the Buzenzele massacre recounted that Commander Tuwo gave explicit orders to attack and loot Hema villages, and some victims were accused of being enemy informants.
CODECO-BTD relied heavily on massacres, arson, looting, rape, and abductions as their primary tactics. They attacked villages in the early morning, often when residents were still asleep. Civilians were targeted directly with machetes, firearms, and fire, with homes burned and entire communities displaced. Examples included the massacre of at least 37 civilians in Buzenzele on 8 July 2020, where fighters raped women, slaughtered families, and burned homes. Similarly brutal incidents occurred in Lando, Matete, Scierie Landa, and several IDP sites such as Rhoe and Lodda, where displaced people were ambushed while gathering food or riding motorcycles. CODECO-BTD also conducted selective killings at roadblocks, murdering civilians who failed to pay "taxes" or who were suspected of cooperating with Hema authorities.
The violence by CODECO-BTD remained localized within the Djugu territory of Ituri province. Their operations focused specifically on rural Hema villages and internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.
CODECO-BTD first became active as a one-sided actor in UCDP data in 2020, when the one-sided violence resulted in over 25 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached on 8 July when CODECO-BTD attacked Buzenzele where fighters raped women, slaughtered families, and burned homes.
