Two aid workers killed in latest violent attack in conflict in eastern Congo

GOMA, Congo – Two aid workers from the aid group Tearfund were killed in an attack on their convoy in eastern Congo, the group said, the latest in a series of violent attacks on aid groups and residents in the region.

The aid workers were killed on Sunday after their convoy arrived in the town of Butembo in North Kivu province, where armed rebels are battling Congolese security forces, the organization said in a statement late Monday.

It was not immediately clear which group was behind the attack, but more than 120 armed groups in eastern Congo carry out deadly attacks, often involving bombs, targeting residents seeking a share of the region’s gold and other resources.

Violence in the province has escalated in recent months as security forces battle rebels. Last week, two people were killed in the region when mortar shells hit a South African military base that is part of a regional peacekeeping mission. Rebels have also captured more villages in recent weeks.

The M23 rebel group, which reportedly has links to neighboring Rwanda, is the most active in the region, having seized strategic towns and controlling about half of North Kivu province, according to Richard Moncrieff, the Crisis Group’s Great Lakes region director.