The Kenyan Quick Reaction Force
The Kenyan Quick Reaction Force contingent deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo under the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO) conducted area-dominating patrols in the areas of Beni.
There had been reported attacks on civilians and the Congolese National Army (FARDC) in the aforementioned areas by the alleged Allied Defense Forces (ADF).
The Kenya Blue helmet soldiers had gone on a patrol mission to assess the situation, disrupt illegal armed groups and reassure the local population in the affected areas.
While at the Ofai FARDC camp, the patrol heard gunshots and responded immediately to establish what was happening.
According to officials, they found a number of civilians had been killed by the attackers and there was a nursing mother together with an infant had multiple gunshot wounds.
The patrol managed to repel the attackers, administered first aid to the injured mother and her infant and thereafter transferred them to a local health center for specialized treatment.
Protection of civilians remains the paramount mandate for the Blue helmets.
Also in accordance with the United Nations guidelines on child protection, the infant was handed over to the local administration while at the hospital for further attention.
The Kenyan Quick Reaction Force has since intensified patrols in the area to deny ADF freedom of movement/action thus stopping further atrocities.
The ADF is one of the deadliest groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a volatile region that has been plagued by militia violence for decades.
The militia — which the Islamic State group claims as its central African affiliate — has been accused of slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out bomb attacks in Uganda.
On January 15, suspected ADF operatives detonated a bomb in a church in North Kivu, killing at least 14 people and injuring another 63.
