Rebels linked to the Islamic State have killed at least 61 civilians during a funeral in eastern Congo, marking one of the deadliest assaults in recent months.
Officials say fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), also known as Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP), struck late Monday in Ntoyo village, Lubero territory, North Kivu province. Armed with machetes and guns, the militants attacked mourners around 9 p.m., leaving dozens dead and several homes burned.
“The victims were caught off guard at a mourning ceremony in the village of Ntoyo … most of them were killed with machetes,” local administrator Macaire Sivikunula confirmed.
The U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks extremist groups, reported that ISCAP claimed responsibility, boasting of killing nearly 100 Christians and torching about 30 houses.
In a separate incident, authorities reported that 18 more people were killed in another suspected ADF raid on a nearby village.
The ADF, originally a Ugandan rebel group, has operated from Congo’s dense forests since the late 1990s and is officially recognized as an affiliate of the Islamic State. Despite joint military operations by Congo and Uganda, the group continues to launch deadly attacks.
Colonel Alain Kiwewa, military administrator for Lubero, warned that the toll could rise as many people remain missing. Local civil society leader Samuel Kagheni said assailants also shot some victims and set vehicles ablaze during the massacre.
Residents reported that Congolese soldiers only reached the scene the following morning, by which time the attack had already unfolded. “ADF militants had already committed the massacre before our soldiers intervened,” army spokesperson Lieutenant Marc Elongo admitted.
The massacre follows a string of brutal ADF operations in recent months. In July, militants killed 38 worshippers in a church attack, while more than 50 civilians were slain in multiple assaults last month.
The violence underscores the worsening insecurity in mineral-rich eastern Congo, where multiple armed groups, including Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, continue to destabilize the region.
source: myjoyonline
