DRC army kills ten ADF armed group members in northeast

The Congolese army has killed 10 members of the armed group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and captured six others, including two children, during offensives in Ituri, in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a statement on Monday (August 15).

"Our men conducted operations on Sunday in the area of Boga and Mitego against the ADF in Irumu territory. There was contact with the enemy. We neutralized (killed) ten ADF elements and their auxiliaries," said Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, army spokesman in Ituri.

The DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) also captured six ADF, including two children under the age of ten of Ugandan and Congolese nationality, the officer explained, adding that this operation was carried out exclusively by the Congolese army.

Since the end of November, the Congolese and Ugandan armies have been conducting joint operations against the ADF in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, without putting an end to the massacres of civilians in these two provinces.

"On Sunday, we discovered five bodies of civilians killed by the ADF near the Mutuweyi River," Vincent Telamboli, president of the Mambasa territory youth group, who oversaw the operation to find the bodies, told AFP. Typically, ADF massacres are recorded more in Irumu territory.

The ADF armed group is referred to by the Islamic State organization (IS) as its Central African branch (ISCAP). EI has claimed responsibility for some of the group's attacks.

The ADF is accused of being responsible for the massacre of thousands of civilians in eastern Congo and for carrying out attacks in Uganda.