DRC: 19 civilians killed in an attack in Mamove, in the territory of Beni
A member of the FARDC stands guard outside Oïcha, in the territory of Beni.
(illustrative image) JOHN WESSELS / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
On the night of Wednesday to Thursday, 19 civilians were killed in an attack by rebels of the democratic forces (ADF) in a village in the town of Mamove, located about twenty kilometers from the city of Oicha in the territory from Beni (North Kivu).
The population increasingly doubts the army's ability to protect it.
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With our correspondent in Kinshasa,
Pascal Mulegwa
It is the biggest attack of the
ADF
in this month of October in the region, but this time, the bloodshed should have been avoided, thinks Kinos Kituho, president of the civil society of Mamove: “
We alerted the The army at the right time, but the army did not want to intervene, so around 7 p.m. the enemy attacked the village and people started killing people with machetes and axes.
For the moment, we have a toll of 19 people killed, 40 commercial houses set on fire, several people have been taken to the bush.
"
Even when several security sources say that the troops deployed in Baheti were absent at the time of the attack, nothing weakens Lieutenant Anthony Mwalushay, the army's 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.
"We warned",
all that is not a debate that interests us.
We congratulate ourselves because we have arrived and have done 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.
This is the fourth in just less than a month for around 40 victims, according to local officials.
This attack came a week after the escape of several ADF rebels among the 1,400 detainees who
escaped from Kangbayi prison in Beni
.
In the same region, soldiers are in shock.
They won't be getting their October pay so quickly.
An officer has vanished into the wild since Monday with about 85,000 US dollars, intended for the pay of the soldiers struggling with the ADF rebels on the main front, on the Mbau-Kamango road.
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