944 Killed In North Kivu, Ituri Regions Of DR Congo Since May
The deaths in the region have occured since May despite a state of siege being placed to reduce attacks.
At least 16 civilians were killed on Wednesday, Oct. 20, night by rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the Beni region of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
This death toll brings to at least 944 people that have been killed in North Kivu and Ituri regions of the country since the declaration of a state of siege in the two regions by President Felix Tshisekedi on May 6, 2021.
According to the Kivu Security Barometer (KSB), the 16 civilians were killed in the villages of Mayele, Kalembo, and Toya in Beni territory of North Kivu and the ADF is suspected to have carried out all the killings.
However, Maleki Mulala, the Coordinator of the civil society in Kivu, says “the casualty figure of the massacre carried out by the ADF enemy is 18 persons killed and 10 other persons reported missing.”
Meanwhile, Captain Anthony Mwalushayi, the army spokesperson in the Beni region, said during a patrol in the village of Kakembo about five kilometres from Bulongo, the national armed forces of DR Congo, FARDC clashed with a group of ADF and Madina at Tauheed Wau Mujahedeen (MTM) terrorists. He did not give casualty figures.
Since May, the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri in the eastern DR Congo have been under a state of siege declared by President Tshisekedi to counter increased rebel activities in the provinces especially by rebels of the ADF.
Beni in the north of North Kivu is at the heart of the zone where the ADF, considered as the most murderous of the armed groups, has been operating for a quarter century now.
Since 2019, the Islamic State has been claiming responsibility for some of the attacks carried out by the ADF against civilians and FARDC positions.
The Islamic State presents the ADF as its branch in the Central Africa Province (ISCAP).
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