Goma: 52 Civilians Including Children Murdered By Machete-Wielding Gang
- At least 52 civilians, including women and children, were massacred in eastern DRC in what UN officials described as one of the most brutal ADF attacks this year
- Survivors and local leaders said the attackers struck at night, tying up residents before killing them with machetes and hoes in Beni and Lubero territories
- MONUSCO confirmed peacekeepers sheltered over 200 civilians during the rampage, even as the death toll continued to rise with bodies recovered from burned homes
- The UN linked the violence to battlefield defeats suffered by the ADF, warning the killings amounted to grave violations of international humanitarian law
Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
At least 52 civilians, including women and children, have lost their lives in a series of machete attacks in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the United Nations peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO.
Source: UGC
The killings, which occurred in the Beni and Lubero territories of North Kivu province, have once again highlighted the terror inflicted by the Islamic State-backed Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
In a statement on Monday, August 18, MONUSCO said the attacks were marked by extreme brutality.
Civilians were reportedly abducted, homes and vehicles set ablaze, and entire communities left in ruins.
Among the victims were eight women and two children, including a little girl.
"These attacks targeting civilians, which come on top of the atrocities committed during the night of 26 to 27 July in Komanda (Irumu territory, Ituri), are intolerable and constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. I extend my sincere condolences, and those of the United Nations, to the bereaved families and communities, and reaffirm my solidarity with the affected populations," said Bintou Keita, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in the DRC.
She extended condolences to the bereaved families and reaffirmed the UN’s solidarity with affected communities.
How did ADF attack Eastern DRC villages?
Local leaders painted a grim picture of how the massacres unfolded.
Macaire Sivikunula, chief of Lubero’s Bapere sector, said attackers woke residents in the night, tied them up with ropes, and attacked them with machetes and hoes.
"When they arrived, they first woke the residents, gathered them in one place, tied them up with ropes, and then began to massacre them with machetes and hoes. Among the victims were children and women whose throats were slit in their homes, while several houses were set on fire," Sivikunula stated.
Lieutenant Elongo Kyondwa Marc, a regional army spokesperson, said the ADF was targeting civilians in retaliation after suffering battlefield defeats against Congolese forces.
The death toll is expected to rise as more bodies are recovered from burned homes and villages.
Source: UGC
MONUSCO confirmed that its peacekeepers intervened to shelter 206 civilians, including 93 children, who fled into a UN base in Mayi-Moya during the violence.
The mission stated that it had since deployed day and night patrols around Oicha, Mavivi, and Eringeti to secure high-risk zones, while reinforcing operations in Komanda and Ofaye in neighbouring Ituri province.
The attacks come at a time of heightened instability in eastern Congo, where multiple armed groups continue to fight over territory and mineral-rich land.
When was ADF founded?
Formed in the 1990s by Ugandan rebels opposed to President Yoweri Museveni, the group relocated its activities to the DRC in 2002 after Ugandan military operations.
Since then, it has killed thousands of civilians and displaced many more, cementing its long and bloody history.
In 2019, it pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, deepening its transnational networks and resources.
Last month, the group killed nearly 40 people in Komanda, Ituri province, when it stormed a Catholic church during a vigil, firing on women and children.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
