The attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, were carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Ituri province along the border with Uganda
At least 23 people were killed and about 20 taken hostage this week in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by a group linked to Daesh, local sources said. The attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, were carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Ituri province along the border with Uganda.
“A total of 23 people executed by these rebels” in the villages of Matolo and Samboko, Jospin Paluku, coordinator of one of the leading civil society organizations in Mambasa territory, said, specifying that the toll is provisional.
At least another 20 civilians were “taken hostage, including the son of the village chief of Matolo,” he added. Humanitarian groups confirmed the numbers and said they were likely to rise. The attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces were carried out in the Ituri province along the border with Uganda. The victims were mostly farmers working in the fields, police said.
ADF, which is made of former Ugandan rebels, has been implanted since the mid-1990s in the northeast of the DRC, where it has killed thousands of civilians despite the deployment of the Ugandan army alongside the Congolese armed forces.
At the end of 2021, Kampala and Kinshasa launched a joint military operation against the ADF, called “Shujaa,” without so far managing to end their operations. Paluku said it was the first ADF attack since the start of the year, after a three-month lull.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said that poisoning was suspected in an unexplained illness outbreak in the western DR Congo. The health scare is the latest to befall the country that has seen outbreaks including mpox, as well as deadly violence in its conflict-wracked east. In the western province of Equateur, there have been nearly 1,100 illnesses and 60 deaths since the start of the year, with symptoms including fever, headaches, joint pain, and body aches, according to the WHO.
The UN agency’s emergencies director, Mike Ryan, said an investigation was underway, but tests had been negative for hemorrhagic fevers such as Marburg and Ebola.
It “appears very much more like a toxic type event, either from a biologic perspective like meningitis or from chemical exposure,” Ryan said. He said that local authorities had indicated that “there is a very strong level of suspicion of a poisoning event” related to a water source in a village. “Clearly, at the center of this, it would appear that we have some kind of poisoning event,” he added.
Earlier in February, the March 23 Movement (M23) armed group announced that it has seized control of Kavumu Airport in South Kivu Province, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
“Kavumu Airport was a danger to the civilian population in the liberated areas and our positions. From now on, Kavumu and its surroundings, including the airport, are under control,” Laurence Kanyuka, the group’s spokesperson, stated in a post on X.
Kavumu Airport, located about 30 km from Bukavu, the provincial capital, serves as a crucial hub for humanitarian and military flights. According to local sources, Congolese forces withdrew key equipment before the airport fell to the M23.
The latest offensive follows the group’s claim on January 26 that it had captured Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province. Since the beginning of the week, the M23 has taken control of several towns in South Kivu, sparking panic among residents in Bukavu.
Sources in South Kivu reported that some DRC soldiers and their allies have retreated, with others moving toward the road to Uvira. Civil society groups, in a letter published Wednesday, urged authorities to avoid combat in Bukavu to prevent civilian casualties.
The security situation in the eastern DRC has deteriorated with the resurgence of the M23, which Kinshasa and United Nations reports accuse Rwanda of backing. Since late 2021, the M23 has intensified its attacks, capturing key strategic locations, including the commercial hub of Bunagana on the Ugandan border and the mining town of Rubaya, known for its coltan deposits.
The conflict is deeply rooted in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and ongoing ethnic tensions, particularly between the Tutsi and Hutu communities. The DRC accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23, while Rwanda alleges that the Congolese army has allied with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a rebel group accused of participating in the genocide against the Tutsi. The escalating crisis has led to mass displacement, increased instability, and heightened diplomatic tensions between the DRC and Rwanda. In response, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi is seeking international backing at the Munich Security Conference, held from February 14 to 16 in Germany. Regional diplomatic efforts and military initiatives are underway to curb the M23’s advance and restore stability in the conflict-ridden Great Lakes region.
