Here’s the rewritten 300-word news article, formatted exactly as per your instructions: Suspected rebels have killed at least thirty people in a wave of brutal attacks across Congo’s North Kivu province in recent days.
The assaults occurred in Bapere village between Wednesday and Friday, according to Colonel Alain Kiwawa, military administrator of Lubero territory.
“We have more than thirty people dead, and at least a hundred who are being held hostage,” Kiwawa told The Associated Press. Civil society leader Samuel Kaheni, president of Bapere’s civil society organisation, reported that several homes were set ablaze during the onslaught.
He said many victims were killed with knives, painting a grim picture of close-quarters violence that left families devastated and communities shattered. The attacks are the latest in a string of assaults by the Islamic State-aligned Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
Last month, ADF militants killed nearly forty people in an attack on a Catholic church in Ituri, where machetes were the primary weapon. The ADF, with origins in neighbouring Uganda, operates in volatile border areas between Uganda and Congo, exploiting remote terrain to evade military pressure.
Both nations have mounted joint armed operations to dismantle the group, yet recent months have seen the insurgents intensify their strikes. The renewed violence compounds Congo’s eastern security crisis, where dozens of armed groups clash and the government confronts the M23 rebels.
M23 forces have seized control of Goma and other strategic towns, deepening instability and fuelling humanitarian concerns. Colonel Kiwawa urged residents to remain alert and report any signs of militant activity to security forces immediately.
“I ask the population to speak out and remain vigilant,” he said, appealing for unity in the face of persistent threats. The killings underscore the fragility of peace in North Kivu, where the shadows of war continue to fall over everyday life.
