Suspected militants of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed at least 40 people in twin attacks in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local officials said on Thursday. The ADF, which the Islamic State group claims as its Central African affiliate, is one of the deadliest armed militias in the region and has been accused of slaughtering thousands of civilians.
The fighters struck the neighboring villages of Mukondi and Mausa in the Beni territory of North Kivu province on Wednesday evening and in the early hours of Thursday. Kalunga Meso, a local administrator, described the scene as “total desolation,” saying, “They rounded up people and then executed them.” He told AFP that 38 people had been killed in Mukondi and eight in Mausa, noting that the death toll was provisional. Local civil‑society figure Mumbere Arsene gave a similar count—37 deaths in Mukondi and eight in Mausa—and added that all the victims were killed with knives.
The Kivu Security Tracker, a respected violence monitor, reported on Thursday that armed men had killed at least 30 people in Mukondi with machetes, though the exact death toll could not be confirmed. The ADF is among the most violent of the dozens of armed groups active in eastern Congo and has been linked to a series of bomb attacks and civilian massacres. Monitors estimate that thousands have died at its hands, many in the Beni region.
A joint Congolese‑Ugandan military operation targeting the militia has been underway since late 2021, yet attacks have continued. Last week, the United States offered a reward of up to $5 million for information concerning ADF leader Seka Musa Baluku.
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