DRC: 11 killed in ADF rebel attack

Kinshasa, DRC, | XINHUA | At least 11 people were killed Thursday night in an attack by rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in a shopping mall in northeastern Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to local security sources.

The ADF rebels attacked the Komanda shopping mall and its surroundings on the night and fired several shots.

Several residential houses and commercial buildings were also set on fire by the rebels during the attack. Security sources in the area said the DRC’s army launched counteroffensive to repel the rebels who retreated into the forest nearby.

Sweeping operations of the armed forces supported by elements of the UN mission in DRC are underway, according to the army spokesman in Ituri, Jules Ngongo, who added that hundreds of people have fled the city of Komanda to take refuge in the surrounding villages after the attack.