These burnt houses are the result of an attack on the town of Oïcha-Mambanike , 30 kilometres from Beni, in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo by rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
ADF rebels kill four in fresh attack on Ebola-hit region
Four people were killed as rebel fighters torched houses, looted property and sowed fear.
Eyewitness recounted the terror from the attack.
“They opened my neighbour’s door and took 3 goats and at my house they took 5 goats and a kid. They burned all my clothes, my wife’s and my children’s clothes, even th e mattresses. In short, everything was burned. They killed 4 people, including 3 men and a mother. We are tired of talking to the government, every day the government promises to restore peace, but in the end there is nothing. We only want peace,” said Mutsubao Vutsapu, a survivor.
The attack on Oicha wasn’t the first. A spate of attacks in the past have forced people to flee their homes.
Since October 2014, ADF rebels have been accused of killing more than 1,500 people in the Beni region.
The ADF, a Ugandan rebel group with bases in Congo is currently facing an onslaught by the Congolese army backed by the UN peacekeeping force in Mayangose and in several areas surrounding the city of Beni.
The United Nations reported on Thursday that seven of its peacekeepers had been killed in the operation.
Residents are angry that the military cannot protect them. Rebel violence and an ebola outbreak around Beni promise to make the situation in eastern Congo more volatile.