BFF-43 Rebels kill five civilians in eastern DR Congo

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Rebels kill five civilians in eastern DR Congo

BENI, DR Congo, Nov 16, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Five people have been shot dead
by a militant group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a civil society
leader said Friday as the military attacked rebels in the Ebola-plagued
region of Beni.

The civilians were killed in a raid Thursday by the Allied Democratic
Forces (ADF), a shadowy armed group rooted in Ugandan Islamism that has
killed hundreds of people since 2014.

The rebels “raided yesterday and shot and killed five civilians and burned
eight houses,” Noella Muliwavyo, president of the local civil society, told
AFP.

It comes after the UN Security Council said Thursday eight UN peacekeepers
— one Tanzanian and seven Malawians — were killed in an offensive against
the ADF “stronghold” of Kididwe.

The town has been used as a springboard for militia attacks on the suburbs
of Beni city, according to a Congolese military officer.

Beni, home to up to 300,000 people, is also battling an Ebola outbreak
that has left more than 200 dead.

The UN has said insecurity is hampering efforts to contain the disease in
a region that has been troubled for decades by inter-ethnic bloodshed and
militia violence.

The sound of loud explosions were heard in Beni on Friday morning,
according to witnesses.

Congolese military forces were battling militants in the Beni district of
Mayangose, army spokesman Captain Mak Hazukay said, and civilians were
“formally banned” from travelling there.

“We continue to pound the positions of the ADF,” he told AFP.

Earlier this week the UN warned that fighting in eastern DR Congo could
hamper the country’s ability to stage elections on December 23 for a
successor to President Joseph Kabila.

“I have grown increasingly alarmed over the situation in Beni in recent
months, where we continue to face major challenges in implementing our
mandate,” Leila Zerrougui, head of the UN stabilisation mission to the
Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUSCO, said on Monday.

“There is a potential for armed group interference in elections in
specific areas throughout eastern DRC,” she told the UN Security Council’s
monthly meeting on the DRC.

BSS/AFP/BZC/1900HRS