The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) carried out two simultaneous attacks in the territories of Lubero and Beni, killing 89 people and wounding several others.
The Congolese government has reaffirmed its determination to press ahead with military operations against the group, which is affiliated with the Islamic State.
The government on Monday condemned the latest assaults by the ADF overnight from September 8 to 9 in North Kivu province.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Communication and Media seen by APA, the attacks targeted several localities in Lubero and Beni territories.
In Ntoyo, a village about five kilometers from Mangurujipa in Lubero territory, “71 people” were killed and “six injured,” provincial authorities said in the statement. The assault also “left several people missing and led to the burning of numerous homes and vehicles.”
In the villages of Fotodu and Avey, located in Bakila-Bakako and Buloloma respectively, within the Batangi-Mbau groupement, Beni-Mbau sector, Beni territory, another attack claimed “18 lives,” the communiqué added.
The government conveyed its “deepest condolences to the bereaved families and expressed full sympathy to the injured.”
The Congolese authorities stressed they remain “firmly committed to pursuing military operations and the hunt for terrorists,” pointing out that these operations “have already led to the neutralization of many fighters, the destruction of several of their bases, and the liberation of civilian hostages.”
Kinshasa reaffirmed its “unwavering determination to strengthen its means to protect civilians, restore security, and work alongside regional and international partners to definitively put an end to the terrorist activities of the ADF, affiliated with the Islamic State, on its territory.”
The ADF, an armed group of Ugandan origin active in eastern DRC since the 1990s, has been designated a terrorist organisation by the United States and is regarded as the Islamic State’s local branch in the country.
These latest attacks are part of a string of deadly raids carried out by the group in North Kivu, a resource-rich province plagued by instability for decades.
AC/sf/lb/as/APA