BENI (DR Congo), July 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A soldier and three rebels were killed in fighting on Tuesday near the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern border city of Beni, a military spokesman said.
The rebels were said to be members of the feared Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which the Daesh group claims as its Central African offshoot.
The 20-minute clash occurred near a bridge spanning the Semuliki River east of the city, Captain Antony Mualushayi, army spokesman in Beni, said.
Troops are carrying out mopping-up operations “to ensure the safety of users of the Beni-Kasindi highway and allow the passage of goods” with neighbouring Uganda to resume, the officer added.
The ADF is among the most violent of the more than 120 militias that roam the DRC’s troubled east.
The group has been blamed for thousands of deaths, particularly in the Beni area of North Kivu province, and for bomb attacks last year in Uganda.
North Kivu and neighbouring Ituri province last year were placed under military control to help a crackdown against the ADF, and the DRC and Uganda have launched a joint offensive against the group.
But its attacks against civilians continue.
The city of Beni was hit on July 12 and 16, with the deaths of six people, and assaults on the Beni-Kasindi highway are now frequent. — NNN-AGENCIES