ADF rebels kill at least 12 people in DRC

Fresh raids by ADF rebels killed at least 12 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local sources told AFP on Wednesday.

These latest attacks come after a series of ADF raids over the Christmas period that killed 21 people in North Kivu province.

The new attacks overnight on Tuesday to Wednesday targeted two places in the same province, local officials said.

The rebels killed at least eight people in the village of Bilendu, not far from Manguredjipa, Samuel Kagheni, a local official in the Bapere sector, told AFP. Other local sources confirmed that toll to AFP.

Torched houses

The rebels also killed at least four people in the village of Mangoya, burning houses in both places, the same sources said.

Originally from Uganda, the ADF, or Allied Democratic Forces, have been present since the mid-1990s in the DRC's restive northeast, where its fighters have killed thousands of civilians.

At the end of 2021, Uganda and the DRC launched a joint military operation against the ADF.

Pushed back into remote areas

Baptised "Shujaa", that offensive has so far proved unsuccessful in putting an end to their attacks.

Both armies have pushed the rebels back into remote and inaccessible areas, where local civilians are often at the mercy of their particularly violent methods.

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