Fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an insurgent group linked to the Islamic State, on Thursday killed 16 civilians in eastern Congo – the area where the deadly outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is currently in progress.
The attack took place in the Beni territory of North Kivu, a province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Local officials said the militants set homes and vehicles on fire, murdered some civilians, and kidnapped others in raids on three villages near the city of Beni.
The latest raid joined other recent ADF attacks in the area that have claimed over 30 lives, including an attack on Beni itself late Saturday night, during which some of the victims were decapitated.
“As we were getting ready for bed, we heard people screaming for help. It was an attack carried out by the ADF. We fled our homes in a panic to save our lives. Unfortunately, in the morning we realised that our neighbours had been beheaded,” a Beni resident told the UK Guardian.
Four Ebola cases have been confirmed in the area around Beni. The Ebola outbreak in total had 344 cases and 60 deaths as of Wednesday, mostly in eastern DRC, although some infections have also been reported in neighboring Uganda.
The ADF – among the most vicious of the many insurgent groups active in the eastern Congo – originally hails from Uganda. The group was defeated by the Ugandan army in 2001 and reformed in the DRC, putting down roots in North Kivu province and becoming a major security threat in 2014. The leader of the ADF pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2016.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday announced sanctions against militia commanders in the eastern Congo, charging them with making a difficult humanitarian system immeasurably worse.
“President Trump has been clear that there is an urgent need to resolve the horrific conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the United States is committed to peace and prosperity in the region,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“Persistent violence by armed groups is exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis and presents a threat to U.S. interests in the region. Today’s sanctions support a peaceful resolution and an end to the bloodshed,” he said.
Health officials pointed out that insurgent attacks have made the Ebola outbreak worse by creating extreme difficulties for medical providers to reach sick people in the eastern Congo and by creating refugee waves that could be spreading the disease across the DRC.
World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus last week warned of a “catastrophic collision of disease and conflict,” and called on all armed groups to cease fighting until the outbreak is under control.
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