At least seven dead after ADF attacks in Ituri province (DRC)

June 27 (EUROPA PRESS) –

At least seven people were killed on Sunday after an alleged attack by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), linked to the Islamic State jihadist group, against the town of Manya, in the Congolese province of Ituri.

The attackers, who were repelled by the actions of the Army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also set fire to some 30 houses and vehicles, as reported by the Radio Okapi station on Monday.

The death toll is still provisional and the authorities have observed a “significant movement” of the population fleeing to Mambasa, the territorial headquarters of Ituri.

The ADF, a Ugandan group created in the 1990s that was especially active in the eastern DRC and accused of killing hundreds of civilians in this part of the country, suffered a split in 2019 after its leader swore allegiance to the jihadist group. Islamic State in Central Africa (ISCA), under whose banner it has operated ever since.

According to UN data, more than 600 people have been killed in the last three months by attacks by armed groups in Ituri alone.