Suspected Rebels Abduct 9 Persons, Kill 1 In North Kivu, DR Congo
Military sources are yet to confirm the identity of the assailants but attacks in the area are often by ADF.
One person was killed and nine members of a family were abducted by an armed gang suspected to be Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in Pakanza quarter of Oicha, chief town of Beni territory of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Local sources in Oicha explained that the deceased was a teacher who was killed in the early morning of Wednesday, Nov. 24, as he tried to stop the assailants from entering the residence of a local economic operator.
According to Nicolas Kikuku, the Governor’s Delegate in Oicha, before killing the teacher, the assailants abducted nine persons.
“It was around 00:40 minutes this morning that we heard heavy arms detonations and five minutes afterwards, it was the sound of bullets from light arms that were heard,” Kikuku explained.
“After about one hour, we heard that Mr Roger Paluku had just been killed. These gunshots were first heard in the house of Mr Patrick, a business operator who sells petrol.”
“When the assailants discovered that the businessman was not at home, they took hostage of nine family members. While leaving, they fired several shots and it was then that Paluku was killed by bullets.”
Colonel Charles Omeanga, the military administrator of Beni confirmed the incident adding that the identity of the assailants is not yet known but attacks in the area attributed to ADF rebels and Mai-Mai combatants have been very frequent in recent times.
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