sixteen individuals have perished, and twenty more are unaccounted for following a violent assault perpetrated by IS in a Congolese village.
During an assault by fanatics on a Congolese village in the northeastern Democratic Republic, approximately 16 individuals were slain. As per John Vulverio from the regional NGO New Civil Society of Congo, approximately 20 others were allegedly seized. Vulverio linked the atrocity to the fanatical organization ADF, which maintains connections to the Islamic State.
Vulverio reported that the fanatics focused on villagers in Mambasa, located in the Ituri region, in a series of attacks spanning from Wednesday to Friday. The death toll remains provisional, Vulverio noted, while the whereabouts of the 20 kidnapped remain uncertain.
Various villages in Congo are under siege by militant groups, consisting of either local rebels jostling for power and valuable assets, or extremists. ADF has been responsible for numerous attacks in the region and occasionally extends beyond its borders into neighboring Uganda, where it originated as a rebel group.
The unrest in the Central African nation has triggered one of the world's most extensive humanitarian crises, with over seven million individuals displaced.
The Congolese government requested the withdrawal of the 15,000-strong UN peacekeeping force in the nation, which has fought against rebels for over two decades, due to its inability to quell the conflict. The withdrawal, due for completion by the end of 2024, was approved.**
Dozens of villagers were reportedly targeted during the assault, and the regional NGO New Civil Society of Congo has expressed concern over the safety of these displaced individuals.
Despite the withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping force, dozens of villages in Congo continue to be under threat from militant groups.
