Over the past two weeks, more than 100 schools in the eastern region of Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo, have remained shuttered due to a protest led by teachers. The protest was ignited by the tragic killing of three teachers during a jihadist attack in the previous month. In solidarity, dozens of school staff have refused to return to their classrooms, and they have collectively stated that they will resume teaching only when the results of the investigation into the attack are made public.
On the distressing night of October 24th, an armed militia group mercilessly attacked the Masosi locality, leaving at least 26 people dead from machete wounds. Regrettably, five individuals are still unaccounted for in the aftermath of this horrific event. The Congolese Army has attributed these killings to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamist group originally hailing from Uganda.
As the investigation into the attack unfolds, negotiations between the authorities and the protesting education unions have reached an impasse, prolonging the closure of schools in the region. This situation adds to the ongoing challenges faced by the Democratic Republic of Congo, with over 6.9 million people displaced from their homes this year, primarily due to the instability created by the presence of more than 200 armed groups in the eastern part of the nation.
