According to reports from civil society in Mbau, in the Beni territory of North Kivu province, the armed group affiliated with the Islamic State attacked the town early Wednesday morning, leaving 21 civilians dead.

The Saturday attack had already left another 20 dead, meaning that in just five days the ADF has left 40 bodies and sown terror in the Beni territory, causing the displacement of the population in an area affected by a cholera epidemic.

The president of the Batangi-Mbau civil society, Louis Kisaki, told Actualite.CD that an unprecedented wave of panic is spreading through Mbau and its surroundings, where people fear the return of the attackers and have fled to areas considered safer, including Oicha, the main city in the Beni territory.

He added that socioeconomic activities remained paralyzed throughout the area until Thursday morning.

In Bafwasende, 12 villages belonging to the Bambodi group, in the Barumbi sector, have been deserted due to their proximity to ADF fighters, who are actively operating in the Mambasa territory of Ituri province, the news outlet reported.

Tshopo provincial deputy Typhen Mabikinyambey warned that the ADF has been stationed for months in villages belonging to the Badumbisa group, in the Mambasa territory, forcing residents of the Bambodi group to seek refuge in Nia-Nia, the city of Bafwasende, and Kisangani.

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