Rebel fighters have brutally killed at least 52 civilians in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The assaults, carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), struck multiple villages in North Kivu province between August 9 and 16.
According to MONUSCO, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, the violence was accompanied by kidnappings and widespread looting.
The mission further warned that the number of civilian deaths could rise as more reports emerge from affected villages.
Among the victims, at least nine people lost their lives overnight from Saturday to Sunday in an attack on the town of Oicha. Just days earlier, the ADF slaughtered more than 40 people during their raids in the Bapere sector.
A local civil society leader reported that homes were set ablaze and civilians were abducted during the onslaught.
The ADF, a militant group originally formed by former Ugandan rebels, has already claimed thousands of lives across the region.
