FARDC Lockdown at Bunia IDP Site Enters Second Day Amid Deaths, Arrests and Looting

A FARDC security lockdown at the Kigonze displaced persons site in Bunia's Mudzi-Mpela neighborhood, Ituri, ran into a second day on Sept 21, 2026 after gunfire erupted around 4 AM on Sept 20. Witnesses reported at least one death, multiple wounded unable to reach care, roughly 24 arrests and looting of shops during the operation, which the military justified by citing a presumed weapons cache and gunfire from the site. Families who had spent the night outdoors began evacuating as gunfire continued into the second day; no official statement confirmed the death toll or the operation's rationale.