Suspected rebels killed at least 17 people in an attack on civilians working in fields in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, according to local officials and a hospital worker.
The attack targeted residents of Oicha, a town in North Kivu province, a mineral-rich region plagued by militia violence since the end of a civil war at the turn of the century.
The victims were tending crops about 20 kilometers (12.43 miles) west of the town.
Oicha Mayor Nicolas Kikuku attributed the attack to members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamic State-linked group originally from neighboring Uganda that now operates in eastern Congo and frequently targets civilians.
By Wednesday evening, 17 bodies had been transported to the morgue of Oicha’s general hospital on motorbikes, Kikuku said. The head of the morgue, Kakule Sekera, reported receiving 19 bodies, including two women, some of whom had been beheaded with machetes.
Patrick Kakule Mukohe, the vice-president of a local civil society group, confirmed counting 17 bodies at the morgue but mentioned hearing of 31 victims in total, suggesting more bodies might be brought in later.
