Incident Summary:
05/04/2016: Assailants attacked civilians with machetes in Mutsonge, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. This was one of two related attacks in the area on this date. 16 civilians were killed and two people were abducted across both attacks. The outcome of the kidnapping is unknown. No group claimed responsibility for the incident; however, sources attributed the attack to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Sources also suspected the involvement of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
Overview
GTD ID:
201605030058
When:
2016-05-04
Country:
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
North Kivu
City:
Mutsonge
Location Details:
The incident occurred north of Beni
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 |
Not Applicable |
Specific Description |
Civilians |
Nationality of Target |
Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Additional Information
Hostages |
Yes |
Number of Hostages |
1 |
US Hostages |
0 |
Outcome |
Unknown |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
Melee |
Knife or Other Sharp Object |
Weapon Details |
Firearms, machetes, and axes 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 |
Casualty numbers for this incident conflict across sources. Following GTD protocol, the most recent reliable estimates are reported here. Casualty numbers for this attack represent a division of a cumulative total of killed across incidents 201605030040 and 201605030058. |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
8 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
8 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
0 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
"World: Suspected rebels in eastern Congo kill 16 in raid on village," East African Standard, May 5, 2016. |
"DRC: Machete Attack Reportedly Kills At least 21 People in Eastern Region," BBC World Service, May 4, 2016. |
"17 killed by suspected Ugandan rebels in eastern DR Congo," Xinhua News Agency, May 4, 2016. |
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