According to Radio Okapi, locals found more bodies this weekend, raising the death toll during the Islamic State-affiliated armed group’s attack on several villages in the Walese Vonkutu chiefdom.

Some victims were decapitated, while others had missing body parts, the publication reported while specifying that farmers and young volunteers collected the remains and transported them to North Kivu for burial.

The attacks occurred between July 8 and 10 in four villages located on the border between Ituri and North Kivu, after the coalition of Congolese and Ugandan armies bombarded ADF strongholds in the Lolwa forest for nearly a week.

Actualité.CD reported that the death toll could continue to rise, as several families report missing loved ones, and there are also people injured by gunshots and knives who are receiving medical treatment.

For months, the frequency of ADF rebel attacks had been declining in the Beni, Irumu, and Mambasa regions, as a result of joint military operations carried out by the Congolese and Ugandan armies.

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