NEWS– Authorities in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have confirmed that around 10 civilians were killed in the latest attacks blamed on ADF rebels affiliated with the Islamic State group prompting local authorities to launch an urgent appeal for help.
The ADF, originally mainly Muslim Ugandan rebels, have established a presence over the past three decades in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where they have participated in killing thousands of civilians and in recent weeks they have stepped up their attacks and looting of villages and health centers.
Leon Kakule Siviwe, leader of the Beni-Mbau district in the North Kivu Province and made a heartfelt appeal to the country’s authorities asking them to help us restore peace to the region after three people were killed on Friday and four on Saturday with around 10 people also missing.
Local civil society leader Georges Kivaya and youth leader Esdras Mathe meanwhile said that at least 10 people were killed in several attacks in the area on Saturday alone, adding that the search continue for victims.
Since the end of 2021, the Congolese and Ugandan armies have been conducting joint operations against the ADF in North Kivu and the neighboring province of Ituri, but have so far failed to stop the deadly attacks on civilians.
Mathe said that every town must have at least one military position to avoid delays in the intervention of the security forces.
Mathe called for an intensification of operations in the region by the two countries’armies after the ADF pledged allegiance in 2019 to the Islamic State group, which portrays them as its central African branch and it has been accused of massacring Congolese civilians as well as staging attacks in neighboring Uganda.
Additional reporting from Voice of America Africa.
