MRebels linked to the Islamic State killed at least 52 civilians in a wave of brutal attacks across eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) earlier this month, the United Nations said Monday.
According to the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) carried out coordinated assaults on villages in North Kivu province between August 9 and 16.
Armed with machetes and hoes, the militants targeted residents in Beni and Lubero territories, leaving devastation in their wake.
Among the dead were at least eight women and two children. Local authorities told Reuters that the attackers woke villagers at night, bound them, and massacred them before torching homes, vehicles, and motorcycles.
The UN warned that the death toll could rise further.
“These attacks targeting civilians, which come on top of the atrocities committed during the night of July 26–27 in Komanda, are intolerable and constitute serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law,” said Bintou Keita, head of MONUSCO.
The July assault in Komanda saw dozens of worshippers killed at a Catholic church during an overnight prayer vigil, further highlighting the group’s ongoing brutality.
The ADF, originally formed in Uganda in the late 1990s in opposition to President Yoweri Museveni, relocated its operations to DRC in 2002 after Ugandan military pressure.
Since then, it has been responsible for thousands of civilian deaths and continues to destabilize the eastern DRC despite repeated offensives by government forces.
Congolese military officials said the latest attacks were acts of revenge following heavy losses suffered by the ADF in recent months.
In response, MONUSCO has increased its military presence and is providing direct support to Congolese authorities.
The mission confirmed that at least 206 civilians, including 70 women and 93 children, have sought refuge at its bases for protection.