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Islamic State-linked militants have killed at least 36 people in two days of attacks in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to local and security sources.
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group formed by former Ugandan fighters and now aligned with the Islamic State group, carried out the assaults in areas near the border between Ituri and North Kivu.
Security sources said at least 21 people were killed in multiple isolated village attacks since Tuesday, while at least 15 others died in an assault on Biakato town in Ituri.
Some local officials reported a higher toll, saying at least 24 people were killed in the village raids, with several others missing, most of them farmers.
In Biakato, attackers reportedly stormed homes and killed residents using guns and machetes, according to local civil society leaders.
The ADF, which operates in dense forest areas of eastern DR Congo, has been accused of carrying out repeated atrocities in response to military operations against it.
The region, rich in minerals, has faced decades of instability involving armed groups, militias, and government forces.
Since 2021, the Ugandan Armed Forces have been deployed alongside the Congolese army in parts of North Kivu and Ituri in efforts to counter ADF activity.
Human rights organisation Amnesty International recently accused the ADF of widespread abuses, including killings, kidnappings, forced labour, child soldier recruitment, and sexual violence against women and girls.
The group said these acts amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity and called for stronger international attention to the crisis.
Local authorities continue to warn that insecurity remains high in remote forested areas where militant groups maintain strongholds and frequently target civilians.
