Democratic Republic of the Congo Flash Update #1 on Ituri: Violence in Fataki, Djugu territory, causing displacement and hindering humanitarian access (As of 27 March 2025)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Intense clashes, increase in attacks and violations against civilians
• Six dead in an attack on a displacement site
• 27,000 people flee violence in Fataki and Djugu Centre
• Suspension of assistance due to insecurity affects more than 300,000 people
• Risk of escalation and intercommunal tensions

OVERVIEW OF THE SITUATION

Since 18 March 2025, the Fataki health zone, located 85 km north of Bunia in Djugu territory, and adjacent areas have been facing a rapid deterioration in security, marked by intense clashes between an armed group (CODECO) and Ugandan army troops (UPDF) deployed in Ituri province. These violent incidents are unfolding in an already volatile context, where attacks and violations against civilians have increased since February, particularly targeting internally displaced people and critical infrastructure.

On the night of 24 March, an attack on the Loda displacement site (Djugu territory) resulted in at least six deaths and six injuries among displaced people, according to local sources.

The recent escalation of violence has triggered massive and preventive civilian displacements from conflict zones. Since 18 March, more than 17,000 people from Fataki and Djugu Centre have sought refuge in Bule, along the Gina-Lopa-Iga Barrière axis, and in Bunia, according to initial alerts from local sources. Around 10,000 other displaced people from the Loda and Djaiba sites have gathered near a MONUSCO base for safety, according to local civil society sources. These movements add to the over 100,000 people displaced since January across the Fataki, Drodro, Linga, Rethy, Mangala, and Tchomia health zones. Critical needs include shelter, drinking water, medical care, and protection from sexual violence.

National Road Number 27 (RN27) and secondary roads (Linga-Kpandroma-Jiba, Djugu-Mangala) have been paralyzed by fighting, isolating hundreds of thousands of people. As a result, six humanitarian organizations have suspended their activities, depriving over 300,000 people—including host communities and displaced populations—of essential humanitarian aid in sectors such as health, water, hygiene and sanitation, and nutrition.

The Fataki General Referral Hospital, which serves 169,000 people, has been closed since mid-March due to threats against its staff. The Djugu Centre health facility was also looted and burned on 19 March.

Thousands of children have lost access to education, increasing the risk of forced recruitment by armed groups.

The disruption of traffic on RN27 has also had economic repercussions. Trucks carrying food and fuel have been blocked or looted by armed elements along the Fataki-Djugu and Fataki-Libi-Nioka routes, causing a spike in prices in Bunia.