UN Says ISIL-Linked Rebels Killed 52 Civilians in Eastern DR Congo

UN Says ISIL-Linked Rebels Killed 52 Civilians in Eastern DR Congo
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At least 52 civilians have been killed this month in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by ISIL (ISIS)-backed rebels, the United Nations mission MONUSCO said Monday, as reported by Al Jazeera. The attacks, carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), targeted Beni and Lubero territories in North Kivu province between August 9 and 16.

MONUSCO warned that the death toll could rise further, saying the violence also involved kidnappings, looting, arson, and the destruction of homes and property in already fragile communities. The mission condemned the killings “in the strongest possible terms” and said it had reinforced its military presence, sheltering hundreds of civilians in its bases.

Local officials described brutal scenes, with residents rounded up and massacred using machetes and hoes. Regional army spokesperson Lieutenant Elongo Kyondwa Marc said the ADF was retaliating against civilians after battlefield losses to government forces. The ADF, originally a Ugandan rebel group formed in the 1990s, shifted operations into the DRC in 2002 and pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2019.

It has been responsible for thousands of deaths and repeated attacks across North Kivu and Ituri provinces. Last month, the group killed nearly 40 worshippers in Ituri’s Komanda city after storming a Catholic church during a vigil. The violence comes as tensions persist between the Congolese army and the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group, despite a recent US-mediated ceasefire deal. A planned permanent peace agreement with M23 by August 18 has yet to materialize.