Islamist rebels hacked to death at least 22 civilians, including 13 women, in an overnight raid in the DR Congo’s troubled Beni region bordering Uganda, local officials said on Sunday.
Members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamist militia that originated in Uganda, were armed with machetes, Beni region administrator Donat Kibwana said. “Teams have been mobilised to recover the bodies and bring them back for dignified funerals”.
The victims were farmers including 13 women, said Noella Katsongerwaki, Beni’s civil society president.
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More than 100 people have died in assaults blamed on the ADF since November 5. The latest incident came a day after six civilians were killed in an attack in the regional capital Beni.
Dozens of armed groups have operated in the DR Congo’s restive east for decades despite a UN peacekeeping presence, with recent attacks primarily blamed on the ADF.