At least 11 villagers including a child were killed in the latest attack blamed on ADF rebels affiliated with the Islamic State network in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local officials said Tuesday.
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels attacked Ndimo village on Monday evening in the gold-rich Ituri province, according to local civil society leader Dieudonne Malangay.
The ADF, originally Ugandan rebels, have established a presence over the three decades in eastern DRC, killing thousands of civilians.
In recent weeks they have stepped up attacks on villages and travellers and have pillaged health centres.
“The victims were shot and killed with machetes,” Malangay told AFP.
“On Tuesday, we found the bodies of 11 civilians, including six women, four men and one child.”
The toll was confirmed to AFP by a humanitarian source, aides to a local administrator, and Ituri’s army spokesperson Jules Ngongo.
Congolese and Ugandan soldiers were deployed in the village while the attack was carried out, according to Malangay, who added that “they intervened, but late.”
The ADF pledged allegiance in 2019 to the Islamic State group, which portrays them as its central African branch.
The ADF has been accused of massacring Congolese civilians as well as staging attacks in neighbouring Uganda.
Kampala and Kinshasa launched a joint offensive against the ADF in November 2021, but violence against civilians continues.