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Shooters linked to Islamic State kill at least 26 people in eastern Congo

ATTACKERS with ties to the Islamic State (Isis) terrorist group have killed at least 26 people in eastern Congo.

Fighters of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed people in Oicha, a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North Kivu province, on Monday, said the area’s military administrator Beni Charles Ehuta Omeonga.

“Among the victims were seven members from the same family killed by the assailants in their home,” he said on Tuesday.

Most of the victims were shot in their homes, said Nicolas Kikuku, a deputy governor in the region, adding that the death toll was probably higher than the reported figure.

Conflict has been simmering for decades in eastern Congo, where more than 120 armed groups are fighting.

The ADF has been expanding and intensifying operations in recent years, spreading from North Kivu to Ituri province despite military efforts to stop them.

Attacks by the Isis-linked group have killed at least 370 civilians since April last year and the United Nations says it is also responsible for the abduction of several hundred more in that time.

The ADF originated in Uganda but was forced to flee to eastern Congo, where it is accused of carrying out multiple attacks on civilians. 

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