By Chris Muhizi for MCN Saturday.
In the villages of Elake North and Apesiko in the chiefdom of Babila Bakwanza, on the territory of Mambasa (Ituri), twelve dead bodies were found on Friday morning, July 14.
According to Okapi radio the victims were killed by the ADF during their escape on Thursday during battles against an armed Mai-Mai group, according to the congolese new society civil.
Local sources claim that this assessment is still preliminary because there are still bodies being searched for in this area.
The bodies of motionless people covered in blood were found in the villages of Elake Nord and Apesiko by farmers who had just entered their fields.
The murder was committed by a gang of ADF on the run during an attack by the Mai-Mai, according to Congolese civil society.
According to John Vuleverio, their director, nine bodies were discovered in Elake Nord on Friday and three more were discovered in Apesiko. The same source, citing escapees, also states that searches continue to be conducted in the forested areas of Mangina Pori and Batshu-batshu to find twenty-six more bodies that have still managed to escape to the surface.
As a result of the ADF’s presence in this area, John Vuleverio alerts the military authorities to the need to organize operations to secure the anxiously populated area.
Colonel Jean-Baptiste Munyampazi, the administrator of the Mambasa territory, is holding off on making a decision regarding this assessment for the time being.
He only confirms the discovery of three bodies in Apesiko, and he adds that the 31st Brigade, based in Mambasa, is in charge of hunting down these rebels.