The United Nations has confirmed the killing of more than 30 civilians by an Islamist rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in a fresh wave of attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The UN mission in the DRC, Monusco, in a report on Friday, said it had received reports of killings attributed to the ADF, a terror group linked to the Islamic State group, in Ituri in northeastern DRC, spanning two days between April 2 and 3.
“Monusco has recieved reports that on 2 and 3 April at the border between the territory of Mambasa and Irumu, the deadly ADF rebel forces killed over 30 civilians in Ituri province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo,” the head of the Mission,
Bintou Keita, said in the report.
“Monusco condemns in the strongest terms, these new massacres and deplores these despicable attacks against the civilian population,” the statement said.
“The Mission urge the Congolese authorities to investigate and bring to justice those responsible for these summary executions,” it added.
The coordinator for the Convention for the Respect of Human Rights in the country, Christophe Munyanderu, who also confirmed the killing, told reporters that women and children were among those killed by the ADF in the attacks.
“In this area there are several farmers who were killed and the death toll of 31 people is only provisional because there are many bodies, which have not yet been found,” Munyanderu said.
“The attacks occurred on Monday and Tuesday and were followed by subsequent fighting in other villages,” he added.
The ADF, originally predominantly Muslim Ugandan rebels, have been operating since the mid-1990s in eastern DRC, where they are accused of massacring thousands of civilians.
In 2019, they pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, thus becoming its branch in Central Africa.
The UN Humanitarian agency, (OCHOA), say the Islamist militants have killed at least 500 civilians and abducted several hundred more, including a significant number of children, mostly in the eastern DRC where they have their stronghold.