At least 27 civilians killed in new massacre in DRC
According to observers and the Congolese army, at least twenty-seven civilians were killed on Saturday at dawn in the DRC by members of the armed group Allied Democratic Forces.
At least twenty-seven civilians were killed on Saturday at dawn in Beni in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by members of the armed group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), according to a new provisional report from the army and observers.
“At least 27 civilians were killed in Beu-Manyama village, near Mamove (Beni territory, North Kivu) this Saturday. The ADF are suspected”, wrote on Twitter the Security Barometer of Kivu (KST), which has observers in this region.
“When we arrived, it was already late because the enemy ADF had already killed more than a dozen of our fellow citizens with machetes,” spokesman Captain Anthony Mualushayi told AFP during the day. of the army in Beni (North Kivu, east).
“We chased them. I inform you that our soldiers neutralized seven ADF. An ADF was captured during the search operation of this area in the western part of the National N°4 where the enemy fled after being dislodged from their strongholds”, added the officer.
State of siege
Also during the day, the local Red Cross reported a higher human toll, saying that around 20 civilians were killed in this attack and other people were abducted. “This afternoon, the toll of the Beu Manyama attack went from 21 to 24 civilians killed,” Philippe Bonane, head of the Red Cross in Beni territory, who was overseeing the operation, told AFP. transfer of bodies to the morgue.
The Beu-Manyama village is located 36 kilometers west of Oicha, capital of the Beni territory, towards the border with the neighboring province of Ituri. This massacre took place after almost a month of relative calm recorded in Beni where the Congolese and Ugandan armies have been carrying out joint military operations against the ADF since the end of November, mainly east of the national road N°4.
Friday in the territory of Irumu, 17 decapitated bodies considered as those of ADF hostages were discovered. North Kivu and Ituri have been under a year-long state of siege, an exceptional measure that has replaced the civil administration with the army and the police but has so far failed to end the violence.
The ADF armed group, presented by the Islamic State organization (EI) as its branch in Central Africa (ISCAP in English), is accused of being responsible for the massacres of thousands of civilians in the DRC and of having committed jihadist attacks in Uganda.
Published today at 00:32
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