DRC: Beni residents still angry over incessant killings in Ebola plagued region

Anger and rage among residents of Beni in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo over incessant killings in the Ebola plagued region.

On Sunday, angry mob ransacked buildings following an ADF attack that left at least 11 people dead and 15 abducted.

“Here in the Matete cell, the enemy arrived at night, killed and took children to the bush. Here, the rebels have looted goods including many people, mothers and children. The government must accept that it has failed. Everything has an end, let them resign “, said Kasero Vawere, a Beni resident.

“We have only one wish, that the Congolese soldiers and the blue helmets are released from this region. They have done many wrong things. If another group comes to our aid, whatever its source, provided we are safe, let our soldiers withdraw, for the moment we do not need them anymore”, said another Beni resident, Muhindo Mashauri.

The toll could be higher because one resident told AFP, he had seen bodies of two men in military uniform in the area where the attack happened.

Other angry residents burnt the post office building and a town hall building while others took to the streets to express their anger.

President of the Civil Society, Beni Kizito Din-Hangi said no one had called for a protest, saying the demonstration was spontaneous.

Earlier, the UN Mission in the DRC (Monusco) told AFP that the peacekeepers exchanged fire on Saturday night with suspected rebels in Beni.

Since October 2014, the city and territory of Beni have been the target of a series of attacks attributed to Ugandan Muslim rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Hundreds of civilians were killed.

AFP