The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has strongly condemned the killing of 89 civilians by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in North Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, earlier this month.
According to MONUSCO, the attacks occurred between November 13 and 19, 2025, across several localities in Lubero territory. Among the massacred victims are 20 women and an undetermined number of children.
In the locality of Byambwe, located 60 kilometres west of Lubero, at least 17 civilians were killed, including women receiving care in a maternity ward at a Catholic Church-operated health centre.
During this attack, four patient wards were set on fire. Other affected localities, including Mabiango, Tunarudi, Sambalysa, Thucha, and Butsili, experienced severe abuses such as abductions, looting of medical supplies, burning of homes, and destruction of community property, compounding the hardships of populations already facing significant humanitarian vulnerabilities.
Bruno Lemarquis, deputy special representative of the secretary-general in the DRC and acting head of MONUSCO, expressed the UN mission’s condolences to the families and communities affected and reaffirmed its solidarity with all victims.
Lemarquis emphasised that violence against civilians, including attacks on medical facilities, may constitute war crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian law.
The Congolese government, however, put the number of deaths at 25. Through its spokesperson, Patrick Muyaya Katembwe, the government extended condolences to the bereaved families and reaffirmed its commitment to cracking down on the ADF and other armed militias.
The ADF rebel group, with ties to the Islamic State, has operated for decades in the Uganda-DRC borderlands. Forced out of Uganda in 2002 following sustained military pressure, the group shifted its operations to eastern Congo, where it has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians.
Despite ongoing joint military operations, Shujaa, conducted by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), the ADF continues to carry out deadly attacks on civilian populations.
Previously, the ADF killed at least 52 civilians between August 9 and 16, 2025, in several localities of Beni and Lubero territories, North Kivu province. They also killed 43 civilians between July 26 and 27, 2025, in Komanda, Irumu territory, Ituri province, including 19 women, 15 men, and nine children.
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