KINSHASA, Congo — At least 20 civilians were brutally killed in a weekend assault on the village of Mambimbi-Isigo in eastern Congo’s North Kivu province, according to military authorities. The attack, attributed to the Islamic State-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), occurred early Saturday in Lubero territory.
Colonel Alain Kiwewa Mitela, the regional military administrator, confirmed the casualty figures in a telephone interview, noting that the violence has triggered massive population displacements that exacerbate the region’s already severe humanitarian crisis. Local civil society activists reported that the militants initially raided agricultural fields before turning their knives and firearms on villagers.
Kinos Kitwa, a civil society representative from Bapere, indicated that the death toll remains provisional with numerous civilians still unaccounted for. Kitwa criticized the inadequate military presence in the area, questioning the Congolese army’s capacity to protect vulnerable communities.
The ADF—originally formed in Uganda during the 1990s as an opposition force against President Yoweri Museveni—relocated to Congo following Ugandan military operations in 2002. The group formally pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019 and has since been responsible for thousands of civilian deaths in border regions.
According to data from the North Kivu Provincial Civil Society Coordination, ADF fighters have killed at least 62 civilians since January in Beni and Lubero territories alone. The escalating violence has drawn international attention, with UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix commencing a two-day visit to the affected eastern regions on Monday.