Africa

Islamic State group claims deadly attack in east DR Congo

Suspected Allied Dem­ocratic Forces fighters have killed at least 23 people in eastern DR Congo, local officials said on Monday, in the latest violence in the turbulent region claimed by the Islamic State group.

The attack occurred over­night on Sunday in the village of Makugwe, in the Beni area of North Kivu province, said local civil society figure, Roger Wan­geve, who put the death toll at 24.

“The ADF surprised 17 people in a small bar where they were drinking beer, and executed them,” he said.

A Congolese army spokesman in the region put the death toll at 24 with 10 people missing.

Wangeve added that militants also looted and torched several homes and shops in the village and carried off several villagers into the bush.

Provincial deputy, Saidi Balik­wisha, who was in Makugwe during the attack, said 23 were killed and three others missing.

He urged an increased military presence in the area to better anticipate armed attacks.

Islamic State group, which has designated the ADF as its central African affiliate, claimed responsibility for the attack on Monday, saying on messaging app, Telegram, that its mili­tants attacked Makugwe and burned down several houses.

AFP was unable to inde­pendently confirm the death toll from the attack.

Colonel Charles Omeonga, the Congolese military administra­tor of Beni territory, told AFP soldiers were “in pursuit of the enemy”, who he said were hiding among the local population.

The ADF is one of the deadli­est groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a volatile region which has been plagued by militia violence for decades.

The ADF has been accused of slaughtering thousands of Con­golese civilians and carrying out bomb attacks in Uganda.

In 2021, the United States officially linked the ADF to IS and added it to its list of foreign terrorist organisations.

On January 15, suspected ADF operatives detonated a bomb in a church in North Kivu, killing at least 14 people and injuring another 63. —AFP

Show More
Back to top button