The head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) called on a "proactive, not reactive" response to the mounting violence from the country's rebels. MONUSCO special representative Martin Kobler told the U.N. Security Council that amid the serious humanitarian situation there have been a series of massacres within and near the city of Beni. From October 2 to 17 more than 80 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed with machetes by rebels from the Ugandan-based Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Kobler said that rebels continued to defy the government despite the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) weakening the rebels' initiatives and releasing hostages held by them. "These lamentable attacks, however, demonstrate the group's resilience and their capacity to use asymmetric guerrilla and terrorist tactics against civilians," Kobler told the council.
