More than 15 people dead in a rebel attack in eastern DR Congo
Suspected militiamen have killed at least 18 people in a village raid in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo on Sunday night, local sources said. At the same time, fighting resumed with the M23 rebel group in a neighbouring province.
Fighters believed to be from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed residents and burned down houses in the village of Otomabere, in Irumu territory, Ituri province, said a witness, a local chief and a local human rights group.
DRC army spokesman Jules Ngongo confirmed the ADF attack without giving a death toll and said Congolese forces were pursuing the assailants.
“We were chatting with some friends outside (when) we heard gunshots, and everyone fled in a different direction. It was total panic,” said Kimwenza Malembe, a resident of Otomabere. “This morning, we counted 18 dead, killed by knives and firearms,” he said.
Trump chief Jonas Izorabo Lemi said he had received word of 20 fatalities. Christophe Munyanderu, the coordinator of the local group Convention for the Respect of Human Rights (CRDH), also said the provisional death toll was 20.
The ADF was founded in Uganda in 1995 before moving to the eastern DRC. The group carries out frequent attacks and killed more than 1,300 people between January 2021 and January 2022, according to a United Nations report.
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