Five
people who were taken hostage by suspected members of the Allied Democratic
Forces (ADF) were found dead near Virunga National Park in the DR Congo’s North
Kivu Province, a local official told AFP.
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| FILE: Police officer keeps guard during the trial of an Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group member in Beni, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. |
Kambale Sibendire, a leader in Malambo district
which is located to the southeast of the city of Beni, confirmed that the
deceased were those kidnapped during an attack on Monday.
“They are the bodies of inhabitants who were
taken hostage in the attack,” Sibendire said.
The ADF is accused of being behind the killing
of 10 people in an attack on the village of Manzahalo late on Monday. Eight of
the casualties were civilians while the other two were an intelligence officer
and a soldier.
The ADF is a rebel group of Ugandan origin
which has been active in the eastern part of the DR Congo since the mid-1990s.
Virunga National Park, Africa’s oldest national
park, and the area around it have been hit by rising instability and violence
in recent months.
Several armed groups operate in the eastern
region; however, most of the recent attacks have been blamed on the ADF. The
attacks led to protests against United Nations peacekeepers and the government
over a perceived failure to protect citizens against the rebel groups.
In December last year, 22 people, among them 13
women, were killed in Beni, according to a regional civil society group.
In November, two people were killed and another
one was injured after the convoy in which they were traveling in was ambushed
on the national highway near Ngwenda village in Rutshuru territory.
The park itself reopened in February last year
following a security review after its closure for nine months in the wake of
the killing of nine people, including a ranger. - AFP
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