DRC: More than 40 dead in new attack attributed to ADF

A new attack on the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday night killed more than 40 people, according to local authorities. The attack was attributed to the ADF rebels, who are affiliated with the Islamic State group.

"The death toll, which is still provisional, is 38 people killed in Mukondi and eight in Mausa," two villages close to each other in the territory of Beni, in the province of North Kivu, Kalunga Meso, the head of the local grouping (set of villages) told AFP.

This toll was confirmed by Arsène Mumbere, president of the local civil society, who added that the attackers "entered the village Mukondi quietly" and killed most of the victims "with knives".

The ADF are originally Ugandan rebels with a Muslim majority, who have been active since the mid-1990s in eastern DRC, where they are accused of massacring thousands of civilians.

In 2021, attacks on Ugandan soil were also attributed to them and a joint military operation between the Congolese and Ugandan armies was launched to hunt them down in North Kivu and the neighbouring Ituri province.

The United States last week offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to their leader, a Ugandan in his 40s named Musa Baluku.