Ten civilians die in an attack blamed on the ADF in eastern DRC

Oct. 2 (EUROPA PRESS) –

At least ten civilians have been killed in an attack perpetrated by suspected members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) against the towns of Malambo and Bolema, located in the province of North Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as reported by civil society sources quoted by the Radio Okapi station.

A spokesman for the New Civil Society of the Congo (NSCC) explained that the victims were farmers who were attacked on Friday afternoon in their own fields. The Army has assured that the attack was repelled and that those responsible were persecuted, but has not provided detailed information.

The deceased are three women and seven men, most of them attacked with knives. Several more people are missing and there is significant property damage, according to NSCC. This attack has caused a massive displacement of the population towards places that they consider safe.

The ADF is a Ugandan group created in the 1990s, especially active in eastern DRC and accused of the massacre of hundreds of civilians in this area of ​​the country.

The group suffered a split in 2019 after Musa Baluku — sanctioned by the United Nations and the United States — swore allegiance to the jihadist group Islamic State in Central Africa (ISCA), under whose banner it has been operating ever since. The DRC and Uganda signed a defense agreement in December to carry out joint operations in eastern DRC.