Incident Summary:
12/04/2009: On Friday, in one of two related attacks, in the village of Mutakato near Walikale, Nord-Kivu, Congo (Kinshasa), assailants attacked the village by unknown means, killing one civilian, wounding one others, kidnapping three others, and looting and damaging the village. No additional information concerning the hostages health or status was available. No motive for the attack was reported and no group claimed responsibility, although it was believed the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) were responsible for the attack.
Overview
GTD ID:
200912040011
When:
2009-12-04
Country:
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
North Kivu
City:
Near Walikale
Location Details:
The attack occured in the village of Mutakato near Walikale, Nord-Kivu, Congo (Kinshasa).
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Kidnapping) |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
Name of Entity |
|
Specific Description |
A village |
Nationality of Target |
Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Additional Information
Hostages |
Yes |
Number of Hostages |
3 |
US Hostages |
0 |
Outcome |
Unknown |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Yes |
Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Unknown |
|
Weapon Details |
Unknown weapons were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | Yes |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
This was one of two related attacks (cf. 200912040012). The most recent available sources listed the fatalities for this attack from one to two, and the injuries for this attack as three, so the majority casualty figures have been used in order to preserve statistical accuracy in the database. The available sources listed the fatalities for these attacks cumulatively as two, and the injuries for these attacks cumulatively as three, and the hostages taken cumulatively as six, so these figures have been distributed evenly for these cases in order to preserve statistical accuracy in the database. |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
1 Fatalities / 1 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
1 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
1 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
National Counterterrorism Center, "One Civilian Killed, Three Others Wounded, Six Others Kidnapped by Suspected FDLR near Walikale, Nord-Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo," Worldwide Incidents Tracking System, April 8, 2010. |
BBC Monitoring Africa, "Two Killed Following Attacks by Rwandan Hutu Rebels in Eastern DRCongo," LexisNexis Academic, BBC Monitoring Africa, December 04, 2009. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties