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Suspected ADF rebels kill pastor, nine others near Uganda border
A convoy of FARDC (Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo) soldiers are seen in the village Idohu recently. FILE PHOTO/ AFP
What you need to know:
- ADF has been accused of slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out bomb attacks in neighbouring Uganda.
- The DRC and Uganda launched a joint offensive against the ADF in November 2021, but the militia continues to wreak havoc across swathes of territory.
Rebels from a notorious militia killed at least 10 civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local sources said Wednesday, while some 20 others are missing after the attack.
Suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants entered the village of Vido in North Kivu province on Tuesday night and killed 10 people, including an Anglican pastor, according a local civil-society leader Patrick Musubao.
"More than 20 people are missing," he added, blaming the attack on the ADF.
Didi Isaya, a local official, also blamed the ADF and said that fighters had torched 25 houses in the attack.
He told AFP that authorities had found 11 dead civilians.
The ADF -- which the Islamic State group claims as its Central African offshoot -- is among the most violent of more than 120 armed groups active in eastern volatile DRC.
It has been accused of slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out bomb attacks in neighbouring Uganda.
The DRC and Uganda launched a joint offensive against the ADF in November 2021, but the militia continues to wreak havoc across swathes of territory.
Both armies are currently conducting joint operations in the area around the town of Beni -- where the village of Vido is located. Rebel attacks in the area have resumed recently after several weeks of calm.
A Congolese army spokesperson could not be reached by AFP.
Faced with continued attacks from various militias, the Congolese government last year placed North Kivu and its neighbour Ituri province under emergency administration in a bid to quell the violence.
Under this so-called "state of siege", the government replaced senior civilian officials with members of the security forces. Violence has continued, however.
