Kinshasa, March 5th, 2026 (CPA).- The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) has announced on Thursday the discovery of a weapons cache hidden in a mining site in the Djugu territory, Ituri province, in the north-east of the country, according to a video received by CPA. ‘The arsenal found is believed to be linked to armed groups active in this unstable zone. The cache contained several military weapons and ammunition, which have been recovered,’ has said Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, spokesperson for the army’s operational sector in Ituri, in the video.
‘Among the equipment seized are AK-47 assault rifles, AK-56 rifles, a submachine gun, several loaded magazines and a large batch of ammunition of various calibres,’ he has specified, noting that the discovery has been made during security operations carried out by the military in the Mambisa chiefdom. For the Congolese army, these weapons would have been hidden by militia members after military operations carried out by the army in the region, which forced these combatants to retreat into the bush. ‘The discovery of this weapons cache is a blow to the operational capabilities of the militias present in the region and is part of operations aiming to restore State authority and to protect the civilian population,’ has added the spokesperson for the Congolese army’s operational sector.
The FARDC is continuing its search operations to neutralise armed groups and recover illegal weapons circulating in the region. The military authorities have also called on the local population to continue to cooperate with the security forces by reporting any suspicious presence or weapons caches, in order to contribute to the lasting return of peace at Djugu, a territory rich in mineral resources that remains one of the hotbeds of insecurity in Ituri. Several armed groups operate there, particularly in areas of artisanal gold exploitation.