UN: 57 killed, 5,800 displaced in attacks by ADF armed group in DR Congo

Congolese families shelter in the grounds of a church being used as a temporary site for internally displaced people in Drodro, Ituri. © UNHCR/John Wessels

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, on Friday announced that the May 31 deadly attacks by the armed group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) left 57 people dead and 5,800 others forced to flee multiple displacement sites in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ituri Province.

Speaking to the Press, UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch said that ADF simultaneously attacked displacement sites and villages near the towns of Bogaand Tchabi, killing 57 civilians – including seven children – who were shot and attacked with machetes.

Several others were left wounded and 25 people were abducted, while over 70 shelters and stores were set on fire.

In Boga town alone, 31 women, children and men were killed.

Bereaved family members told UNHCR partners that many of their relatives were burnt alive in their houses.

Fearing further attacks, thousands have fled Boga to various nearby towns with virtually nothing but the clothes they were wearing.

Health centres were forced to temporarily suspend their activities and evacuate their staff to Bunia, Ituri’scapital city.

The office of one of UNHCR’s humanitarian partner organizations was looted, leaving thousands without vital aid.

UNHCR reports that more than five million people have been uprooted by insecurity and violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In Ituri province alone, 1.7 million people are displaced.

Meanwhile, UNHCR’s financial appeal of US$204.8 million for DRC in 2021 is only 18 per cent funded.

Cgtn.com