DR Congo: 89 Civilians Killed by ADF Rebels in One Week in the East
Eighty-nine (89) civilians were killed in one week in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during several attacks by the ADF rebels, who have pledged allegiance to the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” (ISIS), the United Nations mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) announced Friday.
The ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) carried out “particularly deadly” attacks between November 13 and 19 in several localities in Lubero Territory, located in the north of North Kivu province, MONUSCO said.
“The toll of the attacks in the Bapere sector and the Baswagha chiefdom … is 89 civilians killed, including at least 20 women and an as-yet undetermined number of children,” the UN mission declared.
MONUSCO specified that the ADF killed at least 17 civilians — including women in the maternity ward — in a Byambwe health center about 60 km west of Lubero, and set fire to “four wards housing patients.”
The mission also said other localities such as Mabiango, Tunarudi, Sambalysa, Thucha, and Butsili were the target of “abductions, pillaging of medicines, house burnings, and property destruction.”
Bruno Lemarquis, Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in the DRC and interim Head of MONUSCO, said:
“Violence committed against civilians, including in medical facilities, may constitute war crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian law.”
MONUSCO reiterated its support for Congolese authorities and called on them to open “independent and credible investigations to identify the perpetrators and accomplices of these massacres so that they can be held accountable.”
