UN says at least 52 killed in IS-backed attack in Congo

ISIL (ISIS)-backed rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have killed at least 52 civilians this month, the UN peacekeeping mission has said. The attacks were carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group in the Beni and Lubero regions of North Kivu province between August 9 and 16. The UN peacekeeping mission said the death toll could rise. The attacks were accompanied by atrocities such as hostage-taking, looting, burning of houses, cars and motorcycles and destruction of property. The agency said the attacks had a devastating impact on a population already in dire humanitarian crisis. Local authorities said the attackers first gathered villagers from their sleep, tied them with ropes and then carried out the massacre with sharp weapons such as “axes and machetes”. Despite recent calm, the ADF killed about 40 people, mostly women and children, in an attack on a Catholic church in Komanda, Ituri province, in July. The ADF was formed in the 1990s in a rebellion against the rule of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. It then began operating in Congo in 2002, following a Ugandan military offensive, and formally pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2019. At least nine of those killed this month were killed in an attack in the town of Ouicha in North Kivu between the night of Saturday (16 August) and the dawn of Sunday (17 August) local time. It also killed at least 40 people in the Bapere region of Lubero a few days ago. MONUSCO said it had increased its troop presence in some areas after the new attacks and had sheltered hundreds of civilians in its bases. It is worth noting that although Ugandan and Congolese troops launched a joint military operation called ‘Shuja’ in late 2021, it has not been possible to stop ADF attacks so far.

Source: Al Jazeera.