KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — An Islamic State-affiliated group has attacked villages in Congo near the border with Uganda, killing at least 40 people, a local civil society group said on Friday.
The attacks were carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces overnight from Wednesday through Thursday afternoon, according to Charité Banza, the leader of the Ituri civil society group and Kinos Katua, a member of the group who lives in the area. The Allied Democratic Forces, with roots in Uganda, has long-operated in the border region.
Banza told The Associated Press that 25 people were killed in border villages in the Beni territory of North Kivu while 15 others were killed in Ituri province.
Several homes were also burnt and looted, he said.
The force pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019. In a recent report this week, Amnesty International accused the group of “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
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