Recent deadly attacks attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels on villages in eastern DRC have resulted in the deaths of at least 68 civilians in North Kivu province, local media outlet Actualite.CD reported on Sunday.
According to a local official who spoke with the publication, the latest tragedy occurred against the backdrop of the redeployment of military personnel involved in protecting civilians in the area. This created a security "vacuum," and the attackers "took advantage of this to come and massacre the population when there were no longer any soldiers there," the official was quoted as saying.
This added to the 30 reported deaths in a neighboring area on Wednesday, according to local media. The death toll might reportedly increase further.
A local official, Said Balikwisha, blamed the ADF for the attacks, which resulted in the destruction of 80% of the villages by fire, and urged the government to urgently "review the defense and security budget."
Through propaganda outlets on Friday, the ADF—which Daesh* presented as its branch in Central Africa in 2019—allegedly claimed that “more than 60 Christians were killed, including a Congolese army officer, in an attack by Caliphate soldiers in eastern Congo.”
The ADF terrorist group, affiliated with Daesh, has been causing instability in the eastern region of the DRC and neighboring Uganda since 1995. The UN has accused the group of killing hundreds of people since 2014.
* Daesh (ISIL/ ISIS/ IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries