Islamic State-linked militants kill dozens in DR Congo assault
At least 43 people have been killed in an attack by Islamic State-linked fighters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), the army said on Thursday.
The Congolese armed forces attributed the attack to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), originally a Ugandan Islamist group. It has waged a violent insurgency in eastern Congo for decades and pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in 2019. The group’s fighters have been blamed for massacres, kidnappings, and bombings.
“The toll is 43 compatriots killed, 44 houses burned, and a dump truck and five motorcycles damaged in the locality of Bafwakowa, Bandaka chiefdom,” the authorities said.
Officials told Reuters that the assault occurred at around 7 PM local time in the village in Mambasa territory, Ituri province, near the town of Niania.
“These barbaric acts, characterized by blind violence, loss of human life and destruction of property, constitute a serious violation of human dignity and a flagrant violation of fundamental rights,” government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said, as quoted by Actualite.
The DR Congo continues to grapple with instability as the M23 rebel group maintains control over parts of the country, fueling ongoing clashes and humanitarian crises.
The DR Congo’s mineral-rich east has been plagued by decades of violence, with dozens of armed groups, including M23, fighting Congolese forces for power and control of resources such as gold and coltan. Clashes escalated in early 2025, killing thousands and forcing large-scale displacement, according to UN agencies. The rebels seized Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in late January and later captured Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu.
Ceasefire efforts have repeatedly faltered, including Qatar-facilitated talks in Doha. Congolese authorities have long accused Rwanda of supporting the militants, allegations backed by a UN panel of experts. Kigali has denied the claims. The accusations have strained Rwanda’s relations with Western partners, including Belgium. In March, Kigali severed diplomatic ties with Brussels, accusing it of harboring “neo-colonial delusions” and interfering in the conflict.
In December, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, ratified a US-brokered agreement committing Kigali to withdraw its forces from the border and end alleged support for M23, while Kinshasa pledged to curb militias hostile to Rwanda. US President Donald Trump has said the pact, which includes calls for a joint security mechanism, gives Washington rights to local mineral wealth. The fighting has continued despite Trump’s claims that he ended the decades-long conflict.
The latest violence follows a string of similar incidents. In January, the same armed group tied to Islamic State killed at least 25 civilians in Ituri province. The Convention for the Respect of Human Rights (CRDH) said fighters from the ADF raided the village of Apakulu, burning a house with 15 men trapped inside, executing seven others along a road, and killing three more people in nearby communities.
In September, ADF fighters killed at least 89 people in overnight attacks in North Kivu province, including Christians gathered at a funeral in Ntoyo village, where they allegedly hacked victims with machetes and left at least 60 dead. Additional killings were reported in Beni, where survivors described extreme brutality, including beheadings.
