DR Congo: Dozens Killed in Suspected Islamist Rebel Attack

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Facts

• At least 42 people were killed in an overnight attack by rebels with suspected links to the Islamic State (IS) group in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), local authorities said on Thursday.¹
• The regional administrator, Alain Kiwewa Mitela, blamed the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an IS affiliate, for the attack on the village of Mayikengo in the Lubero region of eastern North Kivu province.²
• According to an official, the assailants told the residents to gather in a market for a meeting before attacking them with guns and machetes.²
• A DRC military spokesperson confirmed the attack, which followed a similar raid on villages in the same province earlier this week, in which at least 80 people were reportedly killed.³
• According to local authorities and civilian groups, the death toll from ADF attacks in the DRC this month now totals almost 150. The DRC is also fighting the Rwanda-linked M23 rebels in the east.⁴
• Once a Muslim-majority Ugandan rebel coalition, the ADF pledged allegiance to IS and became its Central African offshoot. Over the past three decades, it gained a foothold in eastern DRC and reportedly killed thousands of civilians.⁵

Sources: ¹Voice of America, ²Dw.Com, ³TRT Afrika, ⁴The New Arab and ⁵Barrons.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Al Jazeera. The latest ADF attack is a grim reminder that eastern DRC is facing one of the world's most serious, complex, and neglected conflicts. Joint military operations by Ugandan and Congolese forces against the ADF rebels have so far been unable to stop the attacks on civilians, while the Rwandan-backed M23 is also causing more violence. Now is the time for the international community to finally back the Congolese in their fight against the insurgents.
• Narrative B, as provided by The New Times. The government in Kinshasa bears the primary responsibility for the latest tragic ADF attack. Instead of imposing a cease-fire with the support of the East African Regional Force to initiate a political process and address the conflict's root causes, the DRC is relying on the military card. The escalating conflict affects not only eastern DRC but also Rwanda and other neighboring countries. Kinshasa has failed, and the local population is paying a terrible price.

Predictions