Kinshasa, April 11 (UNI/Xinhua) At least 21 people were killed early Monday in an armed attack blamed on rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to local sources reached by Xinhua.
According to local security and military sources, who confirmed the tragedy to Xinhua, the attack was carried out by possible ADF rebels in the Mangusu village, located in the Irumu region of the Ituri province.
Hundreds of civilians, mainly women and children, have been rushing to Bunia, Ituri’s capital, to seek refuge, multiple local sources told Xinhua.
Ituri and the neighboring province of North Kivu have been placed under the state of siege, where the provinces are governed by military and police officers since May 2021, due to the rising insecurity in the region by armed groups, in particular the ADF.
DRC’s Prime minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde has been on a five-day mission since Sunday scheduled in North Kivu and Ituri to evaluate the security situation.