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Militia raids in eastern DR Congo kill ten civilians

WION Web Team
Bunia, DR CongoUpdated: Feb 28, 2021, 08:46 PM IST
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Photograph:(AFP)

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These ADF fighters decapitated eight villagers in the village of Boyo, in the northeast Ituri province, and shot dead two civilians in Kainama, army spokesman Lieutenant Jules Ngongo said.

Fighters killed at least 10 civilians in two overnight attacks in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The fighters are said to be belonging to the notorious Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militia.

These ADF fighters decapitated eight villagers in the village of Boyo, in the northeast Ituri province, and shot dead two civilians in Kainama, army spokesman Lieutenant Jules Ngongo said.

Soldiers were in pursuit of the attackers.

Local officials confirmed the two attacks, adding that houses were also burned in the violence.

Kainama lies at the extreme north of North Kivu province, where it borders with Ituri. It is just five kilometres (three miles) from Boyo. Both provinces sit on DR Congo's eastern border with Uganda.

The ADF militia are Ugandan Islamic fighters who have made their base in eastern DR Congo since 1995.

While they have not launched raids into Uganda for several years, the militia has been blamed for the killings of more than 800 civilians over the past year in both North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

While the army has conducted operations against them in the region since October 2019, they have not been able to put a stop to the massacres of civilians.

(with inputs from AFP)