Tags: congo | islamist militants | un

Suspected Islamist Militants Kill 19 in Congo

people stand and watch

Displaced people watch as a U.N. Security Council team arrives for a visit of the Bushangara camp for internally displaced persons in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Guerchom Ndebo/AFP via Getty Images)

Sunday, 12 March 2023 05:00 PM EDT

Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 19 people and burned a medical facility in a raid on a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo early on Sunday morning, two regional officials and a resident said.

The attack, which occurred around 1 a.m. in the village of Kirindera in North Kivu province, took place just a few kilometers from another attack on a village that killed at least 35 people last week.

The army blamed last week's attack on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan armed group based in eastern Congo that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State. A resident of a nearby village and a member of local civil society blamed Sunday's attack on the ADF.

"The ADF arrived; they set fire to a hospital after looting it with medicines; and they set fire to a hotel," said Sadame Patanguli, the resident.

He said the militants kidnapped several others, who are now missing. The details of the burned buildings and the death toll were confirmed by two regional officials.

The ADF was created in Uganda before moving to eastern Congo in the 1990s, and has been blamed for thousands of deaths in the last decade.

The killings have continued despite efforts by the army, which is also fighting the rebel group M23, whose offensive in recent months has displaced 600,000 people. Congo says the group is backed by neighboring Rwanda, which Rwanda denies.

Meanwhile, public support for the United Nations' peacekeeping mission in eastern Congo, known as MONUSCO, has plummeted because of what local residents say is its inability to stem the violence.

A delegation from the U.N. Security Council toured North Kivu this weekend, including to a camp for displaced people.

"There are no magic solutions, it's not the United Nations that will solve the problem on its own," said Nicolas de Riviere, the French ambassador to the U.N. "We need a political negotiation, we need a security solution."

© 2025 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.


GlobalTalk
Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 19 people and burned a medical facility in a raid on a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo early on Sunday morning, two regional officials and a resident said.
congo, islamist militants, un
322
2023-00-12
Sunday, 12 March 2023 05:00 PM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
 
TOP

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
NEWSMAX.COM
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved