At least 22 killed in troubled North Kivu province

At least 22 civilians were killed in Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province over the weekend, an official said, blaming the attacks on an armed group led by Ugandan rebels. The killings happened in Eringeti, a town 55km north of the regional hub Beni, a city plagued by a wave of deadly attacks, according […]

At least 22 civilians were killed in Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province over the weekend, an official said, blaming the attacks on an armed group led by Ugandan rebels.

The killings happened in Eringeti, a town 55km north of the regional hub Beni, a city plagued by a wave of deadly attacks, according to regional official Amisi Kalonda.

“Yesterday, they killed 10 civilians. Twelve other bodies were found [on Sunday] in the surrounding villages,” he told AFP news agency on Sunday.

For the past two years, the region around Beni has been afflicted by a series of killings. Nearly 700 civilians have died, most of whom were hacked to death.

Congolese officials have blamed the attacks on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group of rebels dominated by Ugandan Muslims, but several reports have suggested that other groups – including elements within the Congolese army – took part in some killings.