Rebels linked to Islamic State group kill 20 in Congo village attack, army says

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Rebels backed by the Islamic State group killed at least 20 people in an attack over the weekend on a village in eastern Congo, the military said Monday. The attack by the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, took place early Saturday in the village of Mambimbi-Isigo in the Lubero territory of North Kivu province, military administrator Col. Alain Kiwewa Mitela told The Associated Press over the phone.

There was no immediate comment from the ADF. The attack has caused a mass displacement of residents, aggravating an already dire humanitarian situation, Mitela said. According to civil society activists in the area, the rebels first raided several farmers' fields before attacking civilians with knives and firearms. "This toll is still provisional because many civilians are missing," Kinos Kitwa, head of civil society in Bapere, said. He criticised the small number of Congolese army troops in the area.

Armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, have carried out several deadly attacks in eastern Congo. The ADF, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2019, operates along the border with Uganda and often targets civilians.

At least 62 civilians have been killed since the beginning of the year by ADF fighters in the Beni and Lubero territories, according to the North Kivu Provincial Civil Society Coordination. On Monday, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix began a two-day official visit to eastern Congo, including Beni, which has been particularly affected by ADF attacks.

The ADF was formed by disparate small groups in Uganda in the late 1990s following discontent with President Yoweri Museveni. In 2002, following Ugandan military strikes, the group moved to neighbouring Congo and has been blamed for the killings of thousands of civilians. In July 2025, the group carried out a series of attacks that killed more than 100 people.

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