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Forty-one people have been killed in rebel attacks in eastern Congo, bringing the death toll to more than 80 this week. The ADF is suspected and calls for immediate political action.
The death toll following a suspected Islamist attack on a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday has risen to 41, a Congolese military spokesman said, bringing the total number of deaths in the region since Tuesday to more than 80.
The villages of Masala, Mapasana and Mahini were attacked by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) on Friday evening, according to a military spokesman in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu region.
The ADF, which originated in neighboring Uganda, is suspected of masterminding several attacks in the region, including one in the village of Masau last week that killed 17 people, two civil society leaders said.
Five bodies were found in the villages of Kabweli and Mamulese on Thursday, according to Justin Kavalami, a civil society member involved in the search. The village chief reported that six more bodies were found in the river near Mununze village the same day.
Thirteen more bodies were discovered in Makovu village on Friday, a civil society leader and village chief said, bringing the total number of people killed by suspected ADF militants since Tuesday to 82.
On Saturday June 8, 42 bodies of civilians killed by the ADF were discovered in Masala, according to civil society members, bringing the total number of people killed by suspected ADF militants since Tuesday to 82. Armies from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda have been conducting a joint operation against them since late 2021, but have not been successful in stopping their abuses.
