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Two people were killed during an attack by the ADF militant group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a local official said Monday on the eve of a peaceful march against violence.
The killings took place on the Mbau-Kamango road, north of the city of Beni, said the region's administrator, Donat Kibwana.
"Both bodies are at Oicha's morgue," he added, accusing the attack on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an obscure armed group rooted in Ugandan Islamism that has killed hundreds of people since 2014.
An army spokesman said the Congolese army was fighting ADF in the Ebola-ridden Beni region, where the disease has killed more than 200 people.
"The ADF have attempted to attack the outskirts of Oicha (north of Beni) and we are pushing them back," said Captain Mak Hazukay.
The government has often accused the group of killings, robberies and kidnappings, but it is sometimes difficult to know who the real attackers are.
Often described as Islamist, badysts say that the motivations of ADF may vary in a region where poverty and instability are endemic.
On Tuesday, civil society organizations in Beni plan to hold a protest against violence in the region.
The protest comes as the DRC prepares to elect a new president on Dec. 23 as the country plans to turn the page on Joseph Kabila's 18-year rule.
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