The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) announced that they had neutralised nine Mobondo militiamen and captured sixty others during a large-scale 72-hour search operation in the Kingakati group, east of Kinshasa.

According to Captain Antony Mualushayi, spokesperson for NGEMBA operations, the forces seized 22 weapons, including 15 AK-47 rifles and several machetes. The equipment is currently being inventoried by units on site, he added. The officer also specified that the two wounded soldiers are receiving appropriate care in military medical facilities.

Finally, the FARDC called on the Mobondo militiamen still on the run to surrender with their weapons “while they still have the opportunity” and thanked the people of Kinshasa, particularly those in the Kingakati group, for their support and cooperation, calling on them to continue to help so that the displaced persons can quickly return to their homes.

The Mobondo militias emerged from an armed community movement that appeared in 2022 in the provinces of Mai-Ndombe, Kwilu and Kwango, following land and ethnic disputes between the Yaka and Teke communities. Despite several calls for disarmament by the government, these groups continue to sow insecurity in certain rural areas, now spreading to the outskirts of Kinshasa.

Written by Akilimali Chomachoma