Summary:
- ADF rebels attacked a health center in eastern DR Congo, killing eight civilians. The assault, part of ongoing violence in the region, underscores the persistent instability and humanitarian crisis.
ADF rebels struck a health center in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, resulting in the deaths of at least eight civilians on Thursday, according to reports from local sources. The assault took place in North Kivu Province. Omar Kalisia, a civil society leader in the Beni territory, confirmed the casualties, revealing that among the deceased were patients and the health center’s accountant. Additionally, one nurse was reported missing, and a house was set ablaze during the attack.
The assailants identified as members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militia that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2019, perpetrated the assault. This incident follows a pattern of violence plaguing the region. Despite a joint military operation launched by the DRC and neighboring Uganda against the ADF in late 2021, their efforts have yet to yield significant results.
Prior to this attack, there were other instances of violence in the area. On May 3, a camp for displaced people in the same province was targeted, and on May 7, a village in a neighboring province was bombed. The toll from the attack on the displaced camp has risen to 35 killed and 37 injured, according to DRC’s Social Affairs Minister Modeste Mutinga Mutushayi, who was in Goma to investigate the incident along with a delegation from Kinshasa.
The United States attributed the assault on the displaced camp to nearby Rwanda and the M23 rebel group, an accusation vehemently denied by President Paul Kagame’s administration. Meanwhile, authorities identified M23 rebels as responsible for the May 7 bombing in South Kivu, which claimed seven lives and injured six others. The M23 rebel group, primarily composed of Tutsis, resumed its armed campaign in the DRC in 2021, seizing control of significant territories.
