Fighters aligned with Daesh-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) have killed 89 civilians during a series of coordinated attacks across eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s Lubero territory, the United Nations peacekeeping mission MONUSCO said on Friday.
According to MONUSCO’s statement, the attacks took place in several parts of North Kivu province between November 13 and November 19, leaving at least 20 women and an unspecified number of children among the dead.
One of the deadliest incidents occurred in Byambwe, where ADF fighters targeted a Catholic Church–run health centre, killing 17 people, including women seeking maternity services. Four patient wards were set ablaze, destroying medical facilities and displacing those seeking treatment.
The mission said the group also carried out abductions, looted medical supplies, and committed other serious violations against civilians.
“MONUSCO urges Congolese authorities to promptly launch independent and credible investigations to identify the perpetrators and accomplices of these massacres and hold them accountable,” the statement added.
Local officials previously reported that suspected ADF fighters killed 19 civilians in Mukondo village last month. In September, the group claimed responsibility for an attack on a funeral that left more than 60 civilians dead, one of its deadliest assaults in recent months.
The ADF originated in Uganda but has operated in the dense forests of eastern Congo since the late 1990s. The group is now considered an affiliate of Daesh, despite joint military operations by Congolese and Ugandan forces aimed at dismantling its networks.
Meanwhile, other areas of North Kivu remain under the control of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, who launched a rapid military advance earlier this year. International mediators, including the United States and Qatar, are working to negotiate a settlement in that conflict, which Washington says is essential to stabilising the region and enabling foreign investment in Congo’s vast mining sector.