At least 12 people have been killed in a brutal attack by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants in North Kivu province, a local official reported on Monday.
The assailants targeted multiple villages on Saturday, with the village of Mukonia bearing the brunt of the violence.
Mayor Nicole Kikuku expressed fears that the death toll could climb as several villagers remain unaccounted for.
The attack marks the latest in a series of escalating assaults by the ADF, a group with ties to the Daesh.
In June, the militia slaughtered at least 40 people in a similar attack on nearby villages.
The group is also suspected of orchestrating a massacre that claimed the lives of over 40 students in neighboring Uganda last year.
Eastern Congo has been embroiled in decades of armed conflict, with over 120 groups vying for control over the region’s rich mineral resources.
The violence has displaced millions of people, many of whom live in dire conditions with limited access to humanitarian aid.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission, which operated in the region for over two decades, is set to withdraw completely by the end of 2024.
The Congolese government made the decision following the mission’s perceived failure to quell the ongoing violence.
An East African regional force, also deployed to stabilize the region, has been ordered to leave the country.
As the security situation deteriorates, the humanitarian crisis in eastern Congo is deepening, raising concerns about the region’s future.
