23 Killed in Islamic State-linked Attack in North-East DR Congo

The brutal assaults, attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), took place on Tuesday and Wednesday in Ituri province, near the border with Uganda.

Jospin Paluku, the coordinator of a leading civil society group in Mambasa territory, confirmed to AFP that 23 people were executed by the rebels in the villages of Matolo and Samboko. He noted that the death toll is still provisional, and the situation remains fluid.

In addition to the fatalities, at least 20 civilians were abducted, including the son of Matolo's village chief. Humanitarian organizations have corroborated these numbers, though they warned the toll could rise as further details emerge. Most of the victims were reportedly farmers working in the fields at the time of the attack, according to a local police chief.

The ADF, a militant group originally composed of Ugandan rebels, has been active in the north-east of the DRC since the mid-1990s. Despite the presence of both the Ugandan and Congolese armies in the region, the ADF has continued to perpetrate violence, leaving thousands of civilians dead.

In late 2021, the governments of Uganda and the DRC launched a joint military operation against the ADF, named "Shujaa." However, the group's insurgency persists, with little success in curbing their attacks.

Paluku noted that this was the first ADF assault of the year, following a rare three-month respite. The resurgence of violence underscores the ongoing instability in the region and the persistent threat posed by the ADF.