DRC: ADF rebels sow terror again in Ituri.

ADF fighters struck again this weekend in Ituri, a province in the far north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. They attacked at least two villages in Irumu territory. At least six people were killed, more than a hundred were kidnapped and there was extensive material damage.

At least six dead, several people kidnapped and homes burned. This is the toll of a new series of attacks perpetrated this weekend by ADF fighters. According to local sources, three attacks have taken place in the same area in less than a week. Military sources also claim that these attacks follow joint operations by Congolese and Ugandan armed forces in Ituri in North Kivu. This situation makes life difficult for the ADF fighters. Desperate and cut off from their sources of survival, they would try to refuel in these villages, according to the same military sources.

Kidnapped people are used to carry looted goods. The youngest are enlisted as child soldiers, and others are exploited as sex slaves.

The ADF, Ugandan rebels who have entrenched themselves in the DRC.

The ADF was originally a coalition of Ugandan armed groups, the largest of which was composed of Muslims, opposed to the regime of President Yoweri Museveni. They have been living on the Congolese side of the Rwenzori Mountains since 1995, where they have established themselves.

From 2014 onwards, and even more so in 2017, the ADF are accused of having massacred more than 6,000 Congolese civilians in violent raids in the Beni region of North Kivu and in Ituri in the north-east of the DRC.

Exactions and serious human rights violations.

Between January 2021 and January 2022, ADF fighters continued to commit attacks against the civilian population. The UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) has recorded an increase of almost 40% in human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law attributable to ADF rebels.

At least 1,311 people were victims of summary execution by ADF members, particularly in the territories of Beni in North Kivu and Irumu and Mambasa in Ituri.