Increase in ADF attacks targeting civilians highlights continued and growing threat posed to local populace in northeast DRC

At least six civilians were killed during an overnight raid by suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants targeting the village of Kekele in Ituri province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between 17 and 18 May. Local administrative official Njiamoja Sabiti told AFP the next day that four men and two women were among those either killed with an edged weapon or shot by the militants, adding that a search for further victims and survivors was underway, and that the number of fatalities could yet rise further.

The Kekele attack came only hours after suspected ADF militants based in neighbouring Nord-Kivu province – the group’s principal area of operations – killed at least seven people and wounded four others in a similar raid targeting the village of Kokola, around 45 km north of Beni city. The militants also set fire to four residences during the attack, which local representative Bravo Muhindo told reporters had “created widespread panic in the local population, disrupting road traffic”.

ADF activity during military offensive