During the night Wednesday to Thursday, 19 civilians were killed in an attack by rebels from the Democratic Forces (ADF) in a village in the town of Mamove, located about twenty kilometers from the town of Oicha in the territory of Beni (North Kivu). The population is increasingly doubting the army’s ability to protect them.
as reported from Kinshasa, Pascal Mulegwa
It’s the biggest attack from ADF in this October in the region, but this time the bloodshed should have been avoided, says Kinos Kituho, president of civil society in Mamove: “We warned the army at the right time, but the army would not intervene, so around noon. 19 the enemy attacked the village and people started killing people with machetes and axes. Currently we have a toll of 19 killed, 40 commercial houses set on fire, more people have been taken to the bush. “
Even when several security sources say the troops deployed in the Baheti were absent at the time of the attack, nothing weakened Lieutenant Anthony Mwalushay, the army spokesman in the region. For him, there was an exchange of fire between soldiers and attackers.
“Everything is set in motion to avenge these deaths, to seek to know it. “We warned”, all this is not a debate that interests us. We congratulate ourselves because we arrived and did our job, the results could have been very heavy without our intervention. ”
Monusco also has a base 6 kilometers from the attacked village, a region that is difficult to access. And where it is not easy to distinguish the security forces from the armed groups, as they often wear the same uniforms. However, the frequency of attacks is worrying in Mamove. According to local officials, this is the fourth in less than a month for about 40 victims.
This attack took place a week after the river for several ADF rebels among the 1,400 detainees who escaped from Kangbayi Prison in Beni.
In the same region, soldiers are in shock. They do not get their October salary so quickly. An officer has been missing in the wild since Monday with about $ 85,000, calculated to pay for the soldiers fighting the ADF rebels on the main front of the Mbau-Kamango road.
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