STORY: Civilians killed by rebel attacks in eastern DR Congo
DATELINE: June 13, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:34
LOCATION: BENI, DR Congo
CATEGORY: MILITARY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Mutwanga village under attack, DR Congo
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Swahili): PALUKU RUTAFUNYA, Survivor of the rebel attack
3.  SOUNDBITE 2 (French): EHUTA OMEONGA, Territory administrator of Beni
4. a shot for the Mutwanga village under attack, DR Congo

STORYLINE:

Several attacks have been reported over the passing weekend in the region of Beni of the North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as rebels of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) launched incursions, killing at least a dozen of civilians.

After the latest attack attributed to the ADF rebels that caused the death of at least three civilians in the village of Mutwanga, Paluku Rutafunya, a survivor of the tragedy, still recollected the near-death and traumatizing experience.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Swahili): PALUKU RUTAFUNYA, Survivor of the rebel attack
"They (the rebels) started approaching to catch me. They threatened to put me on the ground. I refused and fled from their hands. They were dressed in military uniforms and all carried weapons that I don't know how to describe. But there were many of them. They robbed my herd of goats when I fled. I reappeared when the Congolese soldiers arrived around midnight. The rebels fled when they arrived and I approached them. But really the rebels killed at least three people."

But the administrator of the territory of Beni reassures the population that operations are underway to resolve this security issue.

SOUNDBITE 2 (French): EHUTA OMEONGA, Territory administrator of Beni   
"At the moment, in relation to the build-up of our force, the enemy is still showing off. It also makes us think a lot about how to eradicate it once and for all. You need to know that this population does not need luxury, this population only needs peace."

The ADF, which is also a branch of the Islamic State in Central Africa, is a Ugandan rebel group based in the jungles in eastern DRC. The rebel group is blamed for causing havoc in villages in eastern DRC.

The Ugandan military and their DRC counterparts launched joint operations against the rebel group in November 2021.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beni, DR Congo.
(XHTV)