Skip to main content

25 killed in attack by Islamic State-backed group in eastern Congo, rights group says

GOMA, Congo (AP) — An attack by an Islamic State-linked militant group in eastern Congo killed at least 25 people early Sunday, a rights group based in Ituri province said.

The dead from the attack by the Allied Democratic Force, or ADF, include 15 men who were burned alive in a house and seven who were shot in the village of Apakulu in the Irumu territory of Ituri province. Three others were killed in Walese Vonkutu administrative area.

“This tragedy occurred around 4 a.m. and claimed the lives of at least 25 people. This incursion by the ADF is a true massacre,” Christophe Munyanderu, president of the Convention for the Respect of Human Rights, said.

There was no immediate statement from the ADF.

The eastern region of Congo has witnessed several attacks in recent months by armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group.

The ADF, which operates in the border region between Uganda and Congo, has killed several civilians. The group grew out of an insurgency against Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s rule but was pushed into Congo after Ugandan military assaults. Last July, it carried out a series of attacks that killed more than 100 people.

The Ugandan and Congolese armed forces have been conducting joint operations against the group.

___

This story has been updated to correct the group’s name to Allied Democratic Force.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
Read Next Story