Extremist rebels in eastern Congo have killed at least 20 civilians in separate attacks this week, local authorities and civil society groups said Tuesday.
Christophe Munyander, coordinator of the Convention for Human Rights, announced on Tuesday that rebels from the Islamic State-linked Democratic Union Forces killed 13 people in the Mambasa district of Ituri province.
Most of the victims were killed in their own homes.
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In neighboring North Kivu province, ADF troops killed at least 11 people with machetes and guns in Beni territory on Monday, the region’s administrator, Colonel Charles Eftah Omeonga, said.
The national flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is seen in Beijing on May 26, 2023. (Photo provided by Wang Xin/VCG)
He said the death toll could rise further as civilian homes were also targeted and some were missing.
Violence has simmered in eastern Congo for years, with some 120 armed groups fighting for power, land, minerals and the security of their communities.
ADF attacks have intensified in recent years, extending into eastern Congo’s main city of Goma and Ituri province.
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Human rights groups and the United Nations have accused the ADF of killing hundreds of people and kidnapping many more, including a significant number of children.
