At least 43 people were killed and 44 houses torched in an attack by an ISIL-linked rebel group in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, the army said on Friday.
According to the army’s regional spokesman, Lieutenant Jules Tshikudi Ngongo, “43 compatriots were killed and 44 houses torched” during Thursday’s attack in Bafwakoa, located in Mambasa territory of Ituri province.
Authorities said the assault was carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan rebel group that has pledged allegiance to ISIL.
The Congolese armed forces have struggled to contain the violence in recent years due to the proliferation of militant and rebel groups, particularly the Rwandan-backed M23, which seized Goma, the largest city in eastern DRC, last year.
The death toll is expected to rise further as several injured people are in serious condition.
The ADF has intensified attacks on civilians in parts of Ituri and neighbouring North Kivu province in recent months, despite joint Congolese-Ugandan military operations launched against the group in 2021.
Last year, the same group massacred 66 people and abducted dozens in Congo.
“The ADF avoids direct combat with the army and all its partners; that’s why they attack the population in a way that sabotages peace efforts and acts of revenge against the population,” spokesman Lieutenant Ngongo told reporters.
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