Suspected members of a feared Islamist militia killed 10 people in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Beni overnight, the army have revealed that prompting an anti-government protest with youths parading a victim’s body in the streets.
The attack ‘by ADF enemies’ took place in Beni’s southeastern Rwangoma district, lieutenant Anthony Mualushayi told reporters, referring to the Allied Democratic Forces. ‘We lost 10 civilians’ he added.
Local residents were shocked by the first attack in the Rwangoma district in December 2019.
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Angry youths marched on the town hall, carrying a victim’s body and shouting slogans questioning the point of a ‘state of siege’ imposed on May 6 with the aim of quelling ADF violence in North Kivu province as well as Ituri province to the north.
‘We thought it was the light at the end of the tunnel, this state of siege,’ Rwangoma resident Samuel Kalume told re.
‘But after 18 months without an attack by the ADF in our neighbourhood, we’re back at square one. It’s very discouraging.’
The protesters shouted “State of siege = zero’ and ‘FARDC = ADF’. FARDC is the name of DRC’s armed forces.
Police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, arresting six, an AFP correspondent saw.
The DRC’s armed forces said in a statement Thursday evening that its forces had ‘just neutralised five ADF responsible for the attack on the Rwangoma district.
‘For the time being, the FARDC is continuing to hunt down these terrorists in the Virunga National Park,’ it added.
The army’s spokesman for the neighbouring Ituri region, Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, said the army there had killed 13 ‘ADF terrorists’.
Under the ‘state of siege’ proclaimed by President Felix Tshisekedi, senior civilian officials have been replaced by army officers.
The last attack by the ADF in the Rwangoma district, in December 2019, was in reprisal for an army operation against the militia. Around a dozen people were killed including two soldiers.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK