The Army’s spokesman in the area, Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, stated that the military forces have set up positions in Irumu and Mambasa to “block the enemy, protect the civilians, and suppress all threats.”

Speaking to Radio Okapi station, Ngongo called on the population not to be seized by fear, which is the ADF’s modus operandi to force people to abandon their homes and loot their properties.

The spokesman noted that the DRC’s armed forces captured several members of that armed group, many of whom come from the Ituri communities. Ngongo called on the citizens to contribute to searching for the rebels’ members and not to become their accomplices or give them any help.

The ADF, a group linked to the Islamic State, has left a trail of death in Ituri and has recently shifted its activities with greater force to North Kivu province, where its attacks left nearly 40 deaths in Beni last week.

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