Rebels calling themselves ADF, affiliated with the jihadist group, Islamic State killed around 20 people. It was in an attack on the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. A local civil society leader, Patrick Mukohe told AFP by phone that –
“The enemy’s ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) attacked farmers near Enebula village around 4 pm (1400 GMT) on Friday,”
Mukohe said he counted the bodies of 21 people at a murder site. It is about 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of Oicha City in North Kivu province.
Jules Kambale, who works at the Oicha Hospital morgue, said he had received 19 bodies.
Regional military administrator, Charles Efta Omeanga, confirmed the attack was carried out by “ADF terrorists“. However, he said they failed to pay decisive casualties.
The ADF, originally insurgents in Uganda, gained a foothold in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1990s. They have since then been accused of killing thousands of civilians. They have also become the deadliest of scores of outlawed forces in the deeply troubled region.
Since 2019, some ADF attacks in eastern DRC have been claimed by the Islamic State. They describe the group as a local offshoot of the Islamic State Central Africa Province.
In a video shared on social media, and authenticated by Mukohe, a crowd surrounds the body of a man tied to a wooden frame, his throat slit.
When the bodies of victims arrived at the Oicha morgue, some youths tried to block the nearby national road in protest.
They were quickly dispersed by the police who, according to one civil society source, fired bullets in the process.
“The situation here is catastrophic,” the source said.
On Thursday, the United Nations mission in the country, MONUSCO, said that more than 30 people had been killed by the ADF in neighbouring Ituri province earlier in the week.
Last month, the United States offered a reward of up to $5 million for information concerning ADF leader Seka Musa Baluku.
cc: Guardian Ng
