Terrorist attack in Congo, 30 dead
At least 30 people have been killed in an attack by suspected Islamic terrorists in the Republic of Congo. Local officials and civil society leaders reported this information on Wednesday.
The Ugandan Islamist group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked four villages in the west of Beni area. Violence has escalated in the area since the army launched an operation against the rebels in October last year.
Local civil society chief Charite Banza told Reuters that Friday's attack killed around 30 people. He also said that the terrorists set fire to several houses and looted property.
Meanwhile, according to information received from other sources, the news agency AFP said that the death toll exceeded 40.
In addition, a regional administrator named Innocent Matukadala said that 36 bodies were found in Kilo Itat town and eight in Mete and some more in Etendi.
Robert Basiloko, another civil society leader in the area, told AFP that 43 people, including five children, were killed in the terrorist attack. He said, death is happening every day. "We're tired of it."
Reuters and AFP said police identified a militia group called the Cooperative, or Codeco, as the suspected perpetrators of the attack, according to a source.
According to UN data, violence and insecurity have displaced an estimated 1.5 million people in Congo's Ituri province over the past six years.
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