Bunia – Rebels have killed six civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the army said on Wednesday, while conservationists another militia for the deadly shelling of a hydroelectric plant under construction.
Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels killed at least six civilians when they attacked the Lowa village in Ituri province late Tuesday, army spokesman Jules Ngongo said.
The army was able to free 15 other people the ADF had abducted, killing one of the rebels and capturing three others.
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Dieudonne Lossa Dhekana, a member of civil society in Ituri, said the ADF had killed seven people.
The ADF – which the Islamic State group claims as its Central African offshoot – is among the most violent armed groups in the region.
It has been accused of slaughtering Congolese civilians as well as staging attacks in neighbouring Uganda.
Deadly shelling
Another rebel force meanwhile, the March 23 movement (M23), was blamed for the deadly barrage on the power plant site.
The Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature on Wednesday reported “an artillery attack on the construction site of the new Rwanguba power station” in the Virunga national park famous for its gorillas.
Locals had said the shelling had come from M23-held territory, it said.
“There were no casualties among staff” but “several people died in nearby villages”, it added.
Medical sources reported a dozen wounded.
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The European Union’s mission in the DRC said it was outraged to learn of the attack “by the M23” on the Rwanguba site.
It denounced “the sabotage of a public utility project intended to bring electricity to North Kivu residents”, calling on M23 rebels to “immediately put down their weapons and withdraw from occupied areas”.
Kinshasa has accused neighbouring Rwanda of supporting the M23 which, since it resumed fighting late last year, has since captured swathes of territory in North Kivu province.
Kigali has denied the accusations it backs the primarily Congolese Tutsi rebel group.
A report for the United Nations seen this month by AFP said Rwandan troops had been intervening militarily inside the DRC since at least November.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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