Islamist militants in a recent overnight attack killed at least 35 people in a village in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Although the country is no stranger to these attacks, this particular one was carried out in retaliation for a military crackdown on rebel activity, an army spokesperson says.
The attackers are members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan armed group based in eastern Congo that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State and conducts frequent raids on villages.
The attack targeted the Mukondi village, which is south of the city of Beni in North Kivu province, an area plagued with rebel activity.
Army spokesperson, Anthony Mualushayi said about 35 civilians died in the attack.
He said the attack was carried out in retaliation for the army detaining more than 22 ADF collaborators.
It was also spurred by aggression over the closing down of pharmacies allegedly supplying the group with chemicals to make bombs
Varying Death Toll
Provincial governor Carly Nzanzu Kasivita said on Twitter on Thursday morning that at least 36 people were killed in the attack.
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However, the head of a local civil society group, Mumbere Limbadu Arsene, gave a provisional death toll of 44, including women, children, and the elderly, and said several villagers were still missing.
Both sources blamed the ADF, which was created in Uganda before moving to eastern Congo in the 1990s.
Congo’s government declared a state of siege in North Kivu and neighboring Ituri province in 2021.
This declaration is an attempt to curb rampant violence in the country’s vast mineral-rich east.
Despite the declaration, the killings and rebel activity have not shown any sign of reducing.