KINSHASA: At least 20 people have been killed in an attack in eastern part of DR Congo, with sources blaming militants linked with the Islamic State militant group.
“The enemy Allied Democratic Forces ambushed farmers near the village of Enebula,” locals told AFP on Saturday.
20 killed in DR Congo
Locals said that he had counted at least 21 bodies of men and women at the site of the carnage, some 30 km west of the town of Oicha, in Kivu province.
Health officials said that they had received as many as 19 dead bodies. A regional military official confirmed the attack in the area and alleged “ADF terrorists”, for the assault. However, he did not provide more details.
The ADF, originally militants in Uganda, gained a foothold in eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1990s and has since been alleged of killing thousands of civilians, becoming the deadliest of scores of banned troops in the deeply troubled area.
Since 2019, several ADF assaults in eastern part of DRC have been claimed by the Islamic State militant group, which describes the outlaw as its local offshoot.
When the dead bodies of the latest victims arrived at the town, many youths tried to block the national road in protest demonstration.
The UN mission in the African country said that over 30 people were killed by the ADF in Ituri province earlier in the week.
Last month, the US offered a reward of up to 5 million dollars for information concerning ADF top leader Seka Musa Baluku.
