By MONUSCO condemns the attacks by the ADF ‘in the strongest possible terms’, the mission’s spokesperson says.
KINSHASA, Aug 19 (AfrikTimes) – Rebels affiliated with ISIL (ISIS) have killed at least 52 civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) this month, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country (MONUSCO) reported, as both the Congolese army and the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group accused each other of violating a recently mediated ceasefire.
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) targeted the Beni and Lubero territories of North Kivu province between August 9 and 16, MONUSCO said on Monday, warning that the death toll could rise further. The attacks come amid ongoing tensions between the DRC army and the M23 group in the east, despite multiple peace treaties signed in recent months. The government and M23 had pledged to finalize a permanent peace deal by August 18, but no agreement was announced on Monday.
“The latest violence was accompanied by kidnappings, looting, the burning of houses, vehicles, and motorcycles, as well as the destruction of property belonging to populations already facing a precarious humanitarian situation,” MONUSCO said, condemning the attacks “in the strongest possible terms.”
United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) peacekeepers patrol areas affected by the recent attacks by M23 rebels fighters near Rangira in North Kivu in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The ADF is one of several militias competing over land and resources in the DRC’s mineral-rich east. Lieutenant Elongo Kyondwa Marc, a regional army spokesperson, said the group was retaliating against civilians after suffering defeats at the hands of Congolese forces.
“When they arrived, they first woke the residents, gathered them in one place, tied them up with ropes, and then began to massacre them with machetes and hoes,” Macaire Sivikunula, chief of Lubero’s Bapere sector, told Reuters over the weekend. Authorities also reported that nearly 40 people were killed last month in Komanda, Ituri province, when the ADF stormed a Catholic church during a vigil, firing on worshippers, including women and children.
Formed by former Ugandan rebels in the 1990s, the ADF moved its operations to the DRC following military assaults by Uganda. The group pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2019 and has killed thousands of civilians while intensifying looting and attacks in northeastern DRC. Among the 52 victims this month, at least nine were killed overnight from Saturday to Sunday in Oicha, North Kivu, according to AFP sources. A few days earlier, at least 40 people were killed in several towns in Bapere sector.
In response, MONUSCO has reinforced its military presence in affected areas and provided refuge to several hundred civilians at its bases. A joint military operation launched by Kampala and Kinshasa in 2021, dubbed “Shujaa,” has so far failed to halt the ADF’s attacks.
