At least 20 people were killed in the latest attack by an armed group in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern Beni region. The rebels attacked Apetina-Sana, which is 16 kilometers (10 miles) west of Oicha, the chief administrative town in the Beni region, reported France 24.
“There was an incursion in Apetina-Sana by the ADF last night,” Beni administrator Donat Kibwana told AFP, referring to the Allied Democratic Forces, who operate in both DRC and neighboring Uganda. “(They) hacked 18 civilians to death.”
The local officials found two more bodies during a search after the attack, bring the total death toll to 20. The militants also reportedly torched the victims’ homes.
Apetina-Sana is a point on the so-called Triangle of Death, along with Mbau and Eringeti, which is the most attack prone area. The ADF fighters have killed over 200 civilians since the DRC army launched an offensive against the armed group in October this year.
“The authorities were tipped off on Sunday evening about the presence of suspicious men west of Oicha,” said Teddy Kataliko, a civil society activist in Beni. “We continue to ask the DRC armed forces to launch operations on the western side as well to save civilians.”
The frequent militant attacks have sparked anger among the people of DRC against the authorities’ who have failed to provide them protection. There have also been rallies and demonstrations in the city of Beni, where people accuse the U.N. peacekeeping force MONUSCO of failing to protect them.
In another such attack, armed bandits attacked a base used by a Chinese-owned gold mine in DRC on Monday, killing four people. Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, the army’s provincial spokesman, confirmed that the attack took place in the northeastern province of Ituri.
In the attack, two soldiers, one policeman and one driver for the mine were killed.
