“It is likely that these victims were unable to resist or endure the forced march, because when the rebels take hostages, they make them travel with them, either as reinforcements for their group or as forced labor for the war effort,” the source is quoted as telling ACN.
According to the source, abductors force people to carry the loot after raiding villages.
“If you get tired on the way, you’re done,” the source says, and adds, “I believe that is what happened to these 70 people.”
According to the same sources, the Maiba massacre was carried out by the armed Islamist group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which operates in Uganda and in the DRC, and has terrorized the local population for over a decade.
“The Islamic groups have stepped up their attacks and raids in remote villages, killing thousands of Congolese civilians. Before they used to be in other areas, but now it is Lubero which is being attacked,” the local source told ACN.
The source shared that fear has gripped the village because the residents believe that the terrorists have local collaborators who facilitate their operations.
This Maiba massacre comes at a very delicate time for the region, given the worsening of the humanitarian situation in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, which have seen heavy terrorization by another armed group, the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels.
Reportedly supported by neighboring Rwanda, and the Congolese armed forces, the M23 has taken important cities and outposts in the region, including Goma and Bukavu amid heavy fighting.
ACN’s local sources have expressed fear that over the next few days, M23 will take Butembo, North Kivu’s second largest city, as it did Goma and Bukavu.
“We are living through very, very difficult times. We are expecting the rebels to enter the city any moment now, as they are only 70km away from here. There is a lot of psychological suffering in Butembo, because the war is literally at our door. We have seen how other regions were overrun by chaos, and now it seems it is our turn,” the source is quoted as saying.
