At least 31 civilians killed in DR Congo ADF attacks, including 18 in mining village

At least 31 civilians have been killed in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo since the middle of last week in attacks attributed to Allied Democratic Forces fighters, local and security sources said on Monday.

Jospin Paluku, head of the Mambasa civil society organisation in Ituri province, told AFP that the attacks took place between Wednesday and Monday.

Other local sources confirmed that 31 people had been killed, while a security source gave a higher estimate of about 50 deaths.

The attacks occurred in several areas of Babila Babombi, in Mambasa territory.

Sources said at least 18 people were killed on Friday in the mining village of Njiapanda-Bela.

The Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, is affiliated with the Islamic State group and was formed by Ugandan rebels.

The group has carried out repeated massacres in North Kivu and Ituri, two mineral-rich provinces affected by violence involving militias and other armed groups for more than 30 years.

Analysts said ADF fighters had been operating in mobile groups and using Ituri’s forests for cover.

They said the group had sought for several months to extract protection payments from communities dependent on cocoa farming and mining.

Two farmers in Mambasa, speaking anonymously to AFP, said residents were being forced to pay the ADF and received tokens as proof of payment.

One farmer said people found without a token risked being killed.

Uganda has deployed troops in parts of North Kivu and Ituri since 2021 to help the Congolese army fight the ADF, but attacks have continued.

Muhindo Mamboro Peresi, head of the region’s civil society organisation, told AFP that more than 190 civilians had been killed since January in parts of Babila Babombi where the ADF had not yet imposed its protection levy.