North Kivu: around ten dead in an attack attributed to the ADF in Beni

At least ten civilians were killed between last Saturday and Sunday by gunmen considered to be fighters of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). The attack took place in the Sayo and Matembo neighborhoods, peripheral to the Mulekera commune, in the town of Beni, in North Kivu. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The figures for this new killing in the middle of the city vary depending on the sources.

The head of the Sayo district, contacted by telephone, puts the number of eleven dead. However, he indicates that this assessment remains provisional.

On Sunday, the civil society of the Mulekera commune, through its president Joseph Sabuni, gave rather the number of ten deaths and missing persons.

Civil society deplores this attack despite several alerts launched shortly before it occurred.

She calls on the army and the police to play their role in protecting civilians.

Contacted by SOS Médias Burundi, Mayor Dieudonné Ngongo Mayanga, of Mulekera commune, confirms the information.

This senior officer of the Congolese national police and mayor during the state of siege talks of a massive displacement of residents following this latest attack.

He says that the security services have launched a pursuit of the attackers who are still running in the wild after this crime.

Mayor Ngongo Mayanga calls on the population to calm down.

For his part, Captain Antony Mwalushayi, spokesperson for the Sokola 1 operational sector, during a press briefing, further clarified the identity of the ADF commander who ordered the latest attacks against the city. This is Abouakasi, one of the ADF leaders.

The military officer also reassured about the pursuit of the attackers.

As a reminder, since the first week of March, the security situation remains worrying in most of the Mulekera commune, in the town of Beni.

This area is experiencing attacks sometimes attributed to local militias backed by the Congolese authorities known as Wazalendo, sometimes to the ADF.

Investigations are underway to elucidate the true circumstances of these attacks, revealed the mayor of the Mulekera commune.