30 killed in attacks in eastern DR Congo

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A local official reported Sunday that at least 30 people were killed in attacks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's east, with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group suspected of being involved.

The deaths were reported by Kinos Kathuho, the head of a civil society group in Mamove, in the violent Beni region.

On Friday night, he added, ADF rebel forces stormed the community of Mambumembume.

"For the moment, we have a toll of 27 people killed, several houses and motorbikes burned, several people, missing," he said. Two other groups of attackers went to two other nearby villages, where at least five people were also killed, he added.

Those figures could not be verified due to the remoteness of the location and the limited communications.

Locals are "fleeing in all directions," according to Kathuho, who added that there is "no military post" in the region.

Three civilians were murdered in the town of Eringeti on Friday, 30 kilometers from the attacks, according to Njiamoja Sabiti, an official in the governor's office of North Kivu.

The strikes occurred along the border of the Ituri and North Kivu provinces, which have been under an official "state of siege" since last May in an attempt to defeat armed groups that afflict the two regions.

Senior civilian positions in the provinces have been taken over by the army or police officers under it.

Despite the crackdown, which began in late November, and cross-border backing from Ugandan forces, the ADF's attacks have continued.