Kinshasa - Ten people in troubled eastern Congo have been
killed by suspected rebels, authorities told dpa Tuesday.
The attack occurred overnight in the town of Oicha, in North Kivu
province, with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) suspected of
carrying out the killings, local administrator Donat Kibwana said.
"The attackers bypassed the army's positions to attack civilians," he
said. "Ten bodies were retrieved by health workers."
Mak Hazukay, a local army spokesman, confirmed the toll and said the
military was "adjusting" its tactics in the face of the rebels'
attacks.
The ADF was formed in 1995 and is located in a mountainous
Congo-Uganda border area. It is known to use child soldiers and has
been made responsible for gross rights violations.
It is one of numerous rebel groups are active in eastern Congo,
primarily fighting over the area's rich mineral resources.
The ADF frequently launches attacks on civilians, but recently has
been responsible for attacks on United Nations peacekeepers as well.
Last month, suspected ADF militants killed seven UN peacekeepers -
also in North Kivu. Last week, the rebels were accused of killing 12
people in the eastern Congo, mainly farmers working in their fields.
Eastern Congo is also in the midst of the second-worst Ebola outbreak
in history, which has so far seen 498 cases and 167 deaths. Militia
attacks have hindered health workers and complicated the UN's
response to the crisis.