ituri: “covered in blood” - Human Rights Watch

A Hema now opposed to the UPC said, “Meetings of the movement became divisive as a core group including
Lotsove, Lubanga and Dhetchuvi held meetings apart in Kilendu, a language not spoken by Hema from the south.
It was clear to us they had a different vision.” 107 Some UPC members claimed they opposed the new direction.
One such person explained, “When we came to power the logic of the movement changed to eliminating the
Lendu and the Ngiti. I was against this and told the leadership this.” 108 After protesting, the dissident believed
the leaders planned to kill him and he fled for his life.
Against this backdrop of growing extremism, the UPC pressed for autonomy for Ituri. In public statements they
asked, “Why should non-Iturians be managing our territory?” 109 and they argued that if the national government
took control of the area it would loot Ituri, as had others. Some UPC leaders talked in terms of the new division
of people into “originaires” and “non-originaires”. 110 While it was never completely clear who were
“originaires”, many people understood them to be Hema and Gegere. People of other groups feared and resented
this UPC claim to being the original inhabitants of the area.
Attack at Mabanga
As UPC leaders began defining anyone not on their side as “the enemy”, Hema and Gegere armed groups
attacked other groups that had previously seen themselves as neutral in the conflict. In Mabanga, a gold mining
town inhabited by several ethnic groups, for example, Gegere militias turned on the “non-originaires” on August
28, 2002. An attack by Lendu militia had just been repulsed and the local Gegere combatants forced the “nonoriginaires”
to join them in chasing the retreating Lendu fighters. After driving the assailants to a safe distance,
the Gegere combatants turned on the “non-originaires.” A witness recounted:
When we returned from the fighting, the Gegere said that all those who spoke Swahili and were nonoriginaires
should leave straight away. Then I saw a group of Gegere who had come from Iga Barriere.
They were in civilian clothes, running together and were well armed with spears, machetes, chains, and
guns. They were chanting, “Non-originaires slaughtered, Bira killed.” Within minutes of their arrival
they started to kill people. If they saw you and you were light skinned they would kill you shouting
“jajabo” 111 . They were slashing people with their machetes on their arms and their heads. I saw them kill
people. They killed Mr. Totosca and also Ramon Faraho – two people that I knew. The hacked them to
death with their machetes and then burned them. 112
Massacre at Songolo
The UPC moved south after establishing its hold over Bunia and surrounding areas. The Ngiti, a people related to
the Lendu, who lived in this area felt increasingly under pressure as the UPC took market towns and key roads.
Those living near Nyakunde were particularly concerned because they had a history of land disputes with the
locally important Bira. During the August violence in Bunia, the Hema had attacked the Bira, lumping them
together with the Lendu. But in this area, perhaps because of the competition over land, the Bira were more often
allied with the Hema and wanted to drive away the Lendu, seeing their presence as a potential reason for
attracting war to their region. 113 In August 2002 UPC troops replaced a small Ugandan force that had withdrawn
107 Human Rights Watch interview, Kampala, February 2003.
108 Ibid.
109 Jean Baptiste Dhetchuvi, open letter, Ituri – What Future?, September 1, 2002.
110 “Originaires” and “non-originaires”, meaning indigenous and non-indigenous. The French term is used throughout as it is
has a specific relevance in Ituri. The ethnic groups who are “originaires” tend to include Hema, Bira, Lendu, Ndo Okebo, and
Alur although this is contested. In practice since the Lendu are considered the “enemy”, the concept “originaires” for the
Hema excludes them.
111 Local term for Lingala speakers not from the Ituri region.
112 Human Rights Watch interview, Bunia, February 2003.
113 This was done by the Bira Chief of Andisomma. It was likely also linked with historical tensions between the Bira and
the Ngiti over land. Much of this history has not been forgotten by either group and is often cited as further justification for
killings by both sides. Human Rights Watch interview, Oicha, February 2003.
Human Rights Watch
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July 2003, Vol. 15,No. 11 (A)