DRC: about fifty people kidnapped during an ADF incursion in Mambasa

The victims are said to have been abducted in the village of Kilibо while they were in their fields, within the Babila-Babombi chiefdom. This information was reported by the local organization Protection Plus, which condemns the ongoing decline of the security situation in several areas of Mambasa.

According to John Vuleveryo Musombolwa, coordinator of this civil society organization, five civilians are also reported to have been killed in Bandisendé. He states that abductions and massacres are on the rise in the territory, plunging the residents into a situation that has become “unbearable.”

No official confirmation of this toll or of the hostage-taking has been mentioned in the available information. The Congolese authorities have also not communicated, at this stage, about any potential operation aimed at locating the abducted individuals.

Civil Society Calls for Non-Payment of Taxes

In light of this situation, the civil society of Mambasa has called on the residents to suspend tax payments for six months. This initiative aims to pressure the Congolese government to implement concrete measures to put an end to the attacks on civilians.

Ituri continues to face the activism of several armed groups, including the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which are accused by the authorities and various organizations of carrying out deadly attacks and kidnappings in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. In rural areas, farmers are particularly vulnerable when they go to their fields, often far from the protected centers managed by security forces.

The civil society demands that authorities reinforce security presence in the urban areas and agricultural zones of Mambasa. They believe that the increase in abductions fuels fear and directly threatens the economic activities of the local populations.