Elite Kenyan forces kill 5 terrorists in DR Congo

Elite Kenyan soldiers from the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) conducted a secret mission that led to the neutralisaton of an unidentified number of terrorists in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The soldiers under the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in DRC (MONUSCO), on Tuesday, April 19 launched an offensive attack against Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militant stronghold at Mount Hoyo.

According to MONUSCO, "the coordinated offensive action begun with an attacker Helicopter that neutralized 5 targets. Thereafter KENQRF launched a ground attack that cleared all the remaining targets," read a tweet.

QRF soldiers were deployed in June 2021 as peace keepers operating at Mavivi in Beni Eastern Congo. The Kenyan troops, led by Liuetenant Colonel Abdul Galgalo, joined Tanzania, South Africa and Nepal to form the Force Intervention Brigade.

The Kenyan soldiers joined a United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo last year. (Photo by Monusco) Pulse Live Kenya

ISIS in DRC

The Brigade's main mission was to neutralise the spread of ADF also known as Islamic State of DRC, an affiliate to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). ADF is responsible for many attacks across North Kivu and Ituri Provinces in eastern DRC.

Under the leadership of Seka Musa Baluku, ISIS-DRC has been notorious in this region for its brutal violence against Congolese citizens and regional military forces, with attacks killing over 849 civilians in 2020 alone.

The ADF was previously sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the United Nations under the UN Security Council’s DRC sanctions regime in 2014 for its violence and atrocities.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury also sanctioned six ADF members, including leader Seka Musa Baluku, in 2019 for their roles in serious human rights abuse, with a subsequent UN sanctions listing for Baluku in early 2020.