18 Dead In Fighting Between DRC Army And ADF Rebels

Fighting between the army and the armed group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the east and northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo has left at least 18 people dead.

In a tweet, the Kivu Security Barometer, which has experts in the area, said at least 9 civilians were killed on the night of Thursday to Friday in Katanda, North #Kivu.

Abdul Kalemire, the leader of the Bashu chiefdom. Beni Territory, North Kivu), told Newsmen that there was an ADF incursion from 10pm to 3am in the village of Katanda: nine civilians were killed, dozens of houses were burned and several people are missing.

Provincial deputy Saidi Balikwisha said it was a strategy of the ADF to lure the DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) and peacekeepers out of the forest from which they chased them.

In this area, the army and the peacekeepers have conducted joint operations that have dislodged the ADF from their main strongholds in the forest.

Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, army spokesman in the province, said in neighboring Ituri province, ADF rebels attacked the village of Malaya. “The enemy could not resist the army: eight ADF were neutralized (killed) and one soldier fell on the field of honor,” told AFP.

The ADF were originally Ugandan Muslim rebels, but they have been operating for nearly 30 years in eastern DRC, where they are accused of killing thousands of civilians. The jihadist organization Islamic State (EI) lists the group as its branch in Central Africa.

The U.S. placed them on a list of “terrorist organizations” affiliated with the EI in March.