Rebels in eastern Congo kill 6, kidnap 14 in village attack

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) - Rebels in northeast Congo killed six civilians and kidnapped 14 others, a local activist group reported Saturday, the latest attack in a region the United Nations says is facing deteriorating security.

The Center of Study for the Promotion of Peace, Democracy and Human Rights, based in the eastern city of Goma, said the attack occurred Friday evening in a village 7 kilometers (4 miles) east of Eringeti town.

A statement from the group blamed the Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel group with origins in neighboring Uganda. The Allied Democratic Forces have killed at least 500 people since ramping up attacks in the region in October 2014, according to the U.N. The highly secretive group is made up mostly of Islamic extremists who want to establish Shariah law in Uganda, according to Congo's U.N. mission.

Congo's army and the U.N. have launched an operation against the group, but the U.N. envoy for Congo told the Security Council last month that there had nonetheless been "a significant deterioration" in the security situation in eastern Congo, particularly in the Beni and Lubero areas of North Kivu province.

Eastern Congo is home to multiple rebel groups.

In Friday's attack, some Allied Democratic Forces rebels attacked Congo army positions while others targeted civilians and looted and burned homes, according to the Goma civic organization, which cited sources in the area. The group's statement said kidnapped civilians were forced to carry looted goods in the direction of Virunga National Park.