DRC conflict: ADF rebels kill 19 civilians in North Kivu village attack
Reports indicate that the rebels posed as members of the Congolese army to avoid detection, before using guns, knives and clubs to target residents.
Suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels killed 19 civilians in an assault in Mukondo village, North Kivu, raising fears of worsening insecurity in the mineral-rich eastern DR Congo region.
Reports indicate that the rebels posed as members of the Congolese army to avoid detection, before using guns, knives and clubs to target residents.
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According to a local civil society leader who spoke to Reuters, eight other individuals were injured during the incident, while 26 houses were set ablaze. Authorities believe that the death toll could rise as investigations into the attack continue.
"We are asking ourselves how the rebels could come and attack us when we believed the village was well secured. The population is in a state of panic. Some residents fled into the bush and have not returned," the civil society leader said on Monday.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the ADF, originally a Ugandan rebel group, is an affiliate of ISIS, the extremist organisation that seeks to establish a global caliphate under its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
ISIS is notorious for brutal tactics, including mass killings and terrorist attacks. The extremist group formally recognised the ADF as an affiliate in 2018 and began claiming responsibility for its attacks from April 2019, starting with an assault on a Congolese army base near Kamango.
Attacks by ADF have escalated in the region in recent months. In September, for instance, the rebels attacked a funeral in Ntoyo, Lubero territory, eastern DR Congo, killing more than 50 civilians.
Similarly, in late July, at least 43 people died and 15 were injured when ADF fighters struck a Catholic church in Komanda.
ISIS later claimed responsibility for the church massacre, announcing on its Telegram channel that its fighters killed "approximately over 40 worshippers during a night mass in Komanda" and burned dozens of homes and shops.
According to human rights organisations, the ADF has increasingly targeted churches and civilian gatherings to spread fear and erode public confidence in the Congolese government's ability to maintain security.
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