Suspected Allied Democratic Forces, ADF, fighters have killed 19 people in an ambush in eastern DRC, including 14 government soldiers and five civilians, according to authorities and local sources.
The attack took place about a week ago in the village of Banju Banju in Ituri province, a volatile area in the country’s northeast. Security officials said Congolese forces were carrying out operations against ADF elements in nearby forested areas when they were ambushed.
Colonel Matadi Muyapandi, a local security administrator, said 14 members of the armed forces were killed, noting that it took several days to recover and bury the bodies. The toll was later confirmed by an army spokesperson in the province.
Local civil society representatives said five civilians were also killed during the attack. Their bodies have not yet been recovered, as the area remains unsafe and the armed group is still believed to be operating in the surrounding bush.
Since 2021, Ugandan troops have been deployed alongside Congolese forces in parts of Ituri and North Kivu as part of a joint campaign against the ADF, which operates in small, mobile units and uses dense forests as cover.
The group has intensified attacks in recent months. Media tallies indicate that more than 275 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in ADF related violence since July, underscoring the continuing insecurity facing communities in eastern DRC.