A wave of brutal raids by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) — a rebel group aligned with ISIS — has left 89 civilians dead in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO.
The attacks, carried out between November 13 and 19 across several villages in the conflict-torn Lubero region, targeted remote communities with shocking violence. MONUSCO reported that victims included at least 20 women and an unknown number of children.
ADF, originally formed in Uganda in the 1990s after the fall of dictator Idi Amin, has grown into one of the most dangerous extremist groups in Central Africa. Since pledging allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019, the group has intensified its campaign of terror, carrying out killings, kidnappings, arson attacks, and destruction of medical facilities.
UN officials warn that security in the region continues to deteriorate despite decades of peacekeeping operations. MONUSCO — one of the largest and most expensive UN missions — has been deployed in Congo since 1999 but struggles to contain extremist violence spreading across North Kivu.