The key facts

  • The night attack on villages in the Beni territory killed 33 people, the territorial administrator of Beni said
  • About 60 houses and shops were burned, as well as motorcycles; the army launched operations to pursue the attackers
  • The attack came after MONUSCO head James Swan met with the leadership of North Kivu province

Attack in the Beni territory

The death toll from a night attack, believed to have been carried out by fighters of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) group, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has risen to 33, authorities said on Friday. This was reported by Anadolu.

Timeline of the attack

The attack on several villages took place overnight into Thursday in the Beni territory of North Kivu province. Charles Omeonga, the territorial administrator of Beni, said the fighters attacked the villages simultaneously at around 11 p.m. local time (04:00 GMT on Friday), killing people with machetes and firearms. The Lubumbashi, Kananga and Yambi-Yaya areas were targeted.

Aftermath and response

As they retreated toward the forest, the attackers burned houses and shops, forcing residents to flee their homes to safer neighboring settlements. According to available information, about 60 houses and shops were burned, as well as motorcycles. Local media reported that after reinforcements were deployed to the area, the army launched operations to pursue the attackers.

Context

The attack came after James Swan, head of the UN stabilization mission in the Congo (MONUSCO), met with the leadership of North Kivu province to discuss the security situation in the region. Swan confirmed MONUSCO's readiness to support the Congolese authorities in restoring peace and stated that 'the protection of civilians remains our priority.' Ugandan and Congolese forces have been conducting joint operations against the ADF since 2021; the group, which has been active in eastern Congo for many years, is linked to the terrorist organization ISIS (Daesh).