Islamic State Central Africa (ISCAP) in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues its violent campaign in the Beni territory with the group appearing to step attacks especially targeting farmers returning from their fields.
At least 13 people were killed by ADF as ISCAP is referred to locally in the villages of Kinziki-Matiba and Wikeno, 10 km east of the city of Oicha, the capital of Beni. According to local intelligence, the militants kidnapped the victims, tied them up before killing them, looting for supplies, and rolling out of the town. The villages are located along the Mbau-Kamango road which was recently opened after it was rehabilitated; the 70-kilometer road which allows to supply the troops and to facilitate the access to the fields for the harvests.
Despite the heavy military and peacekeepers’ presence in the region, the group continues to exhibit capability that was previously not seen in the first part of the year. Previously the group would conduct attacks at night in guerrilla fashion but in recent weeks the group appears ballsy and has been attacking in the late afternoons and especially targeting villagers returning home from their homes in villages in Beni and neighboring Ituri territories.
Dozens of FARDC soldiers fell on the Mbau-Kamango road in the battle for the conquest of Madina, one of the strongholds of ADF combatants in the territory of Beni. The rehabilitation of the road was to ensure that the road was open and clear and as such deterring ambushes from the ISCAP militants. While the road has opened the axis, ISCAP is proving notorious and stepping up its attacks to defend its growing interests in the region.
