Alleged Mai Mai militias kill four policemen and wound three others in northeast DRC

Aug. 12 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Congolese town of Butembo, in the conflictive province of North Kivu, has once again been the scene of an armed attack, the second in less than 48 hours, with the death of four police officers in a shooting attack carried out by alleged combatants of the Mai Mai militias.

According to security sources, the attackers also burned four National Police SUVs amid enormous local tension after the release of more than 800 prisoners from the nearby Kakwangura Brunelle prison in an attack by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militias. ).

Nearly 200 prisoners have been captured and returned to their cells after an incident that has resulted, so far, in eleven deaths: two police officers, five assailants and four civilians.

The last four police officers killed in Butembo died in an ambush carried out by several young people who barricaded themselves on a local road, camouflaged among the various groups of people who have taken to the streets of the town in recent hours to protect themselves from new attacks in the place. .

Thus, the policemen sent to clear the road suddenly faced an attack with firearms, as confirmed by the commander of urban operations of the Congolese Army, Lieutenant Colonel Mozebo, to Radio Okapi, to whom he has indicated that the situation is, currently “under control”.