KINSHASA, Sept. 4 — At least 36 people were killed Wednesday in an ambush blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), several sources told Xinhua.
The attack occurred on the Komanda-Luna road linking DRC’s Ituri to North Kivu, two provinces plagued by conflicts. Congolese military sources confirmed that the ambush specifically targeted a Ugandan army patrol accompanied by several Congolese soldiers.
According to a UN source based in the Beni territory of North Kivu province, at least 28 Ugandan soldiers were killed in the ambush, along with five Congolese soldiers, and three civilians also lost their lives.
The ADF, an Islamic State affiliate in Central Africa and a Ugandan-origin armed group, has escalated assaults on villages in North Kivu and Ituri provinces in recent months, mainly targeting civilians. According to the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the violence left at least 52 people dead between Aug. 9 and 16 in North Kivu.
In late July, some 40 civilians were killed during an attack on a Catholic church in Ituri. Joint Congolese and Ugandan military operations against the ADF have been ongoing since November 2021, but attacks have persisted. (Xinhua)
