Four Killed, Dozens Kidnapped in Eastern Congo Ambush

BENI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - Four civilians were killed and dozens were taken hostage Wednesday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo when suspected Islamist militants ambushed a convoy and set fire to the vehicles, the government said. 

Congo's army has freed more than 50 of the hostages in Ituri province and operations are underway to recover the remaining captives from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan Islamist group, the communications ministry said on Twitter.  The ministry did not say how many people were still being held hostage. A local lawmaker said earlier that about 80 people were believed to be missing after the attack on a convoy of about 100 vehicles that was traveling with army protection on the road between the cities of Beni and Butembo.  Attacks by the armed groups operating in eastern Congo's borderlands with Rwanda and Uganda have continued unabated despite the government's imposition of martial law in Ituri and North Kivu province at the beginning of May.