By Frank Kamuntu
A gang of rebels attached to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) beheaded three people in the latest attack in the Ituri region, in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s north Kivu province, local media reported Saturday.
“Three civilians were killed in a new attack by the Allied Democratic Forces fighters late Friday in the village of Mbingi, west of the city of Oicha, in Beni territory. All the victims, including a woman, were beheaded,” Actualite.cd quoted Kinos Katuho, head of a local civil society group.
The killings took place at 9:00 P.m. local time (2000GMT).
However, armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) pursued the attackers, according to media reports.
It should be noted that this is the second attack blamed on ADF rebels this week in the area, after rebels killed two civilians in Mabatundu village late Thursday.
FARDC launched an offensive against the ADF at the end of October.
Originally from Uganda, the rebels have been accused of killing more than 1,000 people in the Beni area in the northern part of North Kivu since 2014.
According to civil society groups, rebels killed about 150 civilians between November and December in reprisal attacks.
The attacks on civilians triggered protests in Beni in December, where locals blamed the United Nations peacekeeping force, MONUSCO, of failing to protect them.
