Summary:
The UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO) confirms ISIL-backed Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed 52 civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Beni and Lubero regions, escalating violence despite ongoing peace efforts. Attacks involved kidnappings, arson, and property destruction targeting vulnerable populations. The violence coincides with ceasefire violations between Congo’s army and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. Originally a Ugandan rebel group, the ADF (now ISIL-affiliated) remains entrenched in resource conflicts across eastern DRC despite joint military operations.
What This Means for You:
- Conflict-affected communities: Heightened safety risks in North Kivu require emergency evacuation planning via MONUSCO shelters and local humanitarian corridors.
- Humanitarian workers: Review security protocols in Beni-Lubero border zones; ADF increasingly targets NGOs during retaliatory operations.
- Regional stability analysts: Scrutinize Kampala-Kinshasa “Operation Shujaa” effectiveness as ADF recovers losses through civilian attacks.
- Future outlook: Expect displaced populations to exceed 100,000 if M23-ADF coordination emerges amidst ceasefire erosion.
Original Post:
MONUSCO condemns the attacks by the ADF ‘in the strongest possible terms’, the mission’s spokesperson says.
Rebels backed by ISIL (ISIS) have killed at least 52 civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo this month, according to the United Nations peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO) in the country, as both the DRC army and Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group accuse each other of violating a recently reached US-mediated ceasefire deal.
Attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) targeted the Beni and Lubero territories of the eastern North Kivu province between August 9 and 16, MONUSCO said on Monday, warning that the death toll could rise further.
The renewed violence comes as a separate conflict between the DRC army and the M23 group continues to simmer in the east of the country, despite a series of peace treaties signed in recent months. The government and M23 had agreed to sign a permanent peace deal by August 18, but no agreement was announced on Monday.
The latest ADF “violence was accompanied by kidnappings, looting, the burning of houses, vehicles, and motorcycles, as well as the destruction of property belonging to populations already facing a precarious humanitarian situation,” MONUSCO said. It condemned the attacks “in the strongest possible terms”, the mission’s spokesperson said.
The ADF is among several militias wrangling over land and resources in the DRC’s mineral-rich east.
Lieutenant Elongo Kyondwa Marc, a regional Congolese army spokesperson, said the ADF was taking revenge on civilians after suffering defeats by Congolese forces.
“When they arrived, they first woke the residents, gathered them in one place, tied them up with ropes, and then began to massacre them with machetes and hoes,” Macaire Sivikunula, chief of Lubero’s Bapere sector, told the Reuters news agency over the weekend.
After a relative lull in recent months, authorities said the group killed nearly 40 people in Komanda city, Ituri province, last month, when it stormed a Catholic church during a vigil and fired on worshippers, including many women and children.
The ADF, an armed group formed by former Ugandan rebels in the 1990s after discontent with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, has killed thousands of civilians and increased looting and killings in the northeastern DRC.
In 2002, following military assaults by Ugandan forces, the group moved its activities to neighbouring DRC. In 2019, it pledged allegiance to ISIL.
Among the 52 victims so far this month, at least nine were killed overnight from Saturday to Sunday in an attack on the town of Oicha, in North Kivu, the AFP news agency learned from security and local sources.
A few days earlier, the ADF had already killed at least 40 people in several towns in the Bapere sector, also in North Kivu province, according to local and security sources.
In response to the renewed attacks, MONUSCO said it had strengthened its military presence in several sectors and allowed several hundred civilians to take refuge in its base.
At the end of 2021, Kampala and Kinshasa launched a joint military operation against the ADF, dubbed “Shujaa”, so far without succeeding in putting an end to their attacks.
Extra Information:
• MONUSCO Mandate Updates: Details evolving peacekeeper rules of engagement amid ADF escalation.
• Operation Shujaa Protocol: Explains joint DRC-Uganda counterinsurgency challenges in mineral corridors.
People Also Ask About:
- How did the ADF become affiliated with ISIL? Formal allegiance declared in 2019 to gain funding/ideological legitimacy in Central Africa.
- What minerals drive conflict in eastern DRC? Cobalt, coltan, and gold mines finance ADF operations via illegal taxation.
- Why has MONUSCO struggled against ADF? Restricted mobility in jungle terrain and political constraints on offensive operations.
- Are Rwanda and Uganda involved in the DRC conflict? Rwanda backs M23; Uganda pursues ADF via cross-border operations since 2021.
Expert Opinion:
“The ADF’s systematic attacks reveal a deliberate strategy to destabilize governance in mineral zones,” notes Central Africa security analyst Thierry Vircoulon. “Without disrupting their transnational smuggling networks – which extend to Mozambican ISIL cells – military operations alone cannot resolve this hybrid threat. Regional intelligence fusion is overdue.”
Key Terms:
- ADF-ISIL attacks Beni Lubero
- DRC-Rwanda ceasefire violations 2025
- Operation Shujaa effectiveness Congo-Uganda
- MONUSCO civilian protection mandate
- Conflict mineral financing armed groups DRC
- M23 rebel ADF coordination risks
- ISIL Central Africa expansion
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