Islamic State-backed rebels, armed with machetes and hoes, have killed at least 52 civilians in the Beni and Lubero regions of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over the past week, UN and local officials reported.
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) reportedly carried out the attacks in retaliation after suffering defeats by Congolese forces, Lieutenant Elongo Kyondwa Marc, a regional army spokesperson, said.
“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.
In the village of Melia alone, about 30 civilians were killed, including children and women whose throats were slit in their homes, with several houses set on fire, according to military administrator Alain Kiwewe.
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) condemned the attacks “in the strongest possible terms.” The spokesperson noted that the toll could rise as searches continue and confirmed that the victims include eight women and two children.
The ADF is among multiple militias vying for control over land and resources in Congo’s mineral-rich eastern regions. Congolese forces, supported by Uganda, have intensified operations against the ADF in recent weeks.
In late July, the group killed 38 people in a church attack in the region.
Written By Rodney Mbua
