Islamic State-affiliated insurgents have carried out a series of attacks in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s Lubero territory, resulting in the deaths of 89 civilians, as reported by the United Nations peacekeeping mission known as MONUSCO on Friday. The perpetrators identified as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) conducted these assaults in various localities of North Kivu province between Nov. 13 and Nov. 19. Among the victims were at least 20 women and an unspecified number of children, according to MONUSCO.
One of the incidents involved an assault on a health facility run by the Catholic Church in Byambwe, where 17 individuals, including women seeking maternity care, were killed. The rebels also set fire to four patient wards and engaged in abductions and looting of medical provisions.
In response, MONUSCO has called on Congolese authorities to promptly launch independent and credible investigations to identify and prosecute the perpetrators and collaborators behind these massacres. This plea was made in the wake of a recent attack where suspected ADF militants allegedly killed 19 civilians in the village of Mukondo, as reported by local officials to Reuters last month.
The ADF, initially a rebel group in Uganda, shifted its operations to the forests of Congo in the late 1990s and is acknowledged by the Islamic State as an affiliate. In a separate incident in September, the ADF claimed responsibility for a deadly assault that resulted in the deaths of over 60 civilians during a funeral in eastern Congo.
Despite efforts by the Congolese army and Ugandan forces to counter the ADF, the group’s attacks persist. Additionally, parts of North Kivu province are controlled by the M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, who made significant territorial gains this year. International mediators, such as the United States and Qatar, are actively engaged in peace negotiations to resolve the conflict, a move that is anticipated to attract Western investments in the mining sector.