Rebels Attack Hydroelectric Plant In Eastern DR Congo, Murder Civilians
ADF and M23 rebels attacked different parts of eastern DR Congo, causing significant damage to lives and properties while suffering few consequences.
Insecurity in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is growing despite the state of siege that has been in place in the Ituri and North Kivu provinces since May 6, 2021.
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels killed six people yesterday in Ituri while the M23 rebels bombed a hydroelectric plant under construction in North Kivu.
Army spokesperson in Ituri province, Lt. Jules Ngongo, confirmed that the ADF killed six civilians as they escaped after an incursion into Lolwa village.
Lt. Ngongo revealed that after a gunfire exchange between the army and rebels, fifteen hostages were released, with one rebel killed and three others captured.
Dieudonne Lossa Dhekana, coordinator of the civil society in Ituri, contradicted the number, saying the ADF killed seven persons during the attack.
Meanwhile, fighting was also reported on Tuesday, August 16, 2022, in the neighbouring province of North Kivu between the DR Congo national army, FARDC and rebels of the M23 movement.
In a communique made public yesterday, Wednesday, August 17, 2022, the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature, popularly known by the French abbreviation ICCN, deplored “an artillery attack on the construction site of a new hydroelectric plant in Rwanguba” inside the Virunga National Park which is celebrated for its mountain gorillas. The local community said the artillery attack was by M23 rebels.
“No victims were recorded among the personnel, but several victims died in neighbouring villages,” according to the ICCN, which added significant damage to the construction site.
Medical sources say there were about ten persons wounded in the attack.
The European Union office in DR Congo, which supports the hydroelectric plant construction, says it “learnt with indignation, this bombardment by M23. The EU condemns with the last energy this sabotage of the construction of a public utility destined to supply electricity to the inhabitants of North Kivu and instantly calls on M23 to lay down their arms and to withdraw from the occupied zones”.
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