GOMA – Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels have killed five civilians and injured one peacekeeper from South Africa, DR Congo military and MONUSCO officials said.
Captain Mak Hazukay, Congolese army spokesperson in North Kivu said ADF rebels killed five civilians in Eringeti, North Kivu, wounding one peacekeeper.
MONUSCO says it has found that ADF combatants have stepped up their actions in the east of the country, including the territory of Beni. In Beni City, students demonstrated Tuesday and Wednesday to demand peace in this region.
The attackers also stole cows and drugs from the pharmacies, the army said.
WHO officials have said insecurity in the east of the country is making it difficult for health officials to respond to Ebola which has killed more than 100 since August 1.
Hazukay said the ADF, a militia, created by Muslim rebels to oppose Ugandan President Museveni’s government has also been targeting army positions.
The mayor of the city of Beni Nyonyi Bwanakawa has said ADF is trying to establish a base outside the city.
This week, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said he will meet his Democratic Republic of Congo counterpart Joseph Kabila to discuss measures of wiping out rebel groups in the eastern part of the vast central African country.
Local human rights groups say more than 800 civilians have been killed near Beni by militias including ADF since October 2014, most in overnight raids by rebels carried out with machetes and hatchets.
The ADF was also accused of killing 15 Tanzania peacekeepers in the Beni region in December 2017.
Eastern Congo is plagued by dozens of armed militias that attack locals and exploit minerals. Congo, Africa’s biggest copper producer and the world’s largest source of cobalt, is preparing to hold presidential elections in December this year.