9 Persons Die In ADF Attacks On Oicha, Other Villages In DR Congo

Nine persons, eight of whom were civilians and one rebel, died in attacks by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels on about 10 villages to the west of Oicha in North Kivu of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to civil society sources, the ADF rebels on Sunday, Oct. 10, attacked Mabuo, Mangazi, Matekelambi and Matadi villages, among others.

“Four persons were first executed in Matekelambi and several houses razed down,”  a civil society source told HumAngle. 

“Not far from there, the assailants completely burnt down the village of Mabuo and carted away motorcycles. Several civilians are reported unaccounted for since the raids.”

The attacks occurred despite the state of siege declared on May 6, by President Felix Tshisekedi in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri.

“No military operations of any significance have taken place in the zone where the villages attacked are located which justifies the continued rebel attacks in the zone,” one of the local sources revealed.

Kinos Katuho, leader of the civil society in Mamove said there have been no military offensives in the area. 

“We have never seen offensives by the army against rebels in our area and this since 2014. This is why there are persistent killings by the rebels in our zone.” he declared.

The army said Monday morning that one ADF rebel was killed during clashes between the FADRC and the rebels in Mbingi. This information has also been confirmed by civil society sources. Four persons were also killed on Saturday night, Oct. 9,  in Mbingi village.

This brings to 13 the total number of persons killed last weekend in the Oicha area. The casualty figure is expected to rise as the search for dead bodies continues in the zone.