“When you meet the unbelievers, strike the necks…(Qur’an 47:4)”: Muslims murder 24 people in jihad raids in the Democratic Republic of Congo, most were beheaded, casualty figure to increase as many are missing and assailants are still roaming in the zone

At least 24 civilians died in separate attacks by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in various towns and villages in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Twelve civilians were killed on Thursday, July 28, in two villages in the east of the country.

“We received five corpses yesterday (Wednesday, July 27) and seven other corpses today (Thursday, July 28). Of the  12 corpses, four were women,” said Dr. Jerome Munyambete, Director of the Oicha general hospital.

Meanwhile, 12 other civilians were also killed by ADF rebels on Tuesday, July 26, in attacks on the villages of Makakwa and Mutueyi near the locality of Mamove in Beni territory of North Kivu.

According to eyewitness accounts, the victims were killed by machetes and bullets while on their farms. 

Most of them were decapitated and the Oicha civil society, which has confirmed the murders, said all the corpses were taken to the Oicha general hospital mortuary. 

Two of the corpses were buried on Wednesday while the others are still waiting to be collected from the mortuary.

The casualty figure is sure to increase as several persons are still unaccounted for and the assailants are still roaming in the zone.

These massacres are taking place while the state of siege was declared on May 6, 2021, in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri is still in force and the majority of the population of North Kivu has been questioning the efficacity of the state of siege.

The joint military operations between the DR Congo national army, FARDC, and the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) against the ADF continue in the region.

Presented by the Islamic State as its Central African province, the ADF is accused of having massacred thousands of civilians in DR Congo and carrying out jihadist attacks in Uganda.

Until November last year, Oicha, the chief town of Beni territory in North Kivu province was one of the principal targets of ADF attacks in the region.

The rate of attacks has considerably reduced after the launching of joint military operations by the Congolese and Ugandan armies on November 30, 2021, forcing the ADF to move towards the west, according to local observers.

The joint military operations are intended to neutralize the ADF in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

References:

humanglemedia.com