Fighters with the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, killed the civilians Wednesday night in Bafwakoa village. The Ugandan Islamist group operates on both sides of the porous border.
“They set fire to houses in the village,” Samuel Banapia, a member of civil society in the area, said by phone.
Congo’s military said in a statement that 43 villages were killed, while local officials said the toll was at least 56, with several people missing and at least two taken hostage.
Congo’s army has struggled to contain the ADF as it battles several other rebel groups in the east. The most prominent is the Rwandan-backed M23, which last year seized major cities in the east.
“The ADF avoids direct combat with the army and all its partners. That’s why they attack the population in a way that sabotages peace efforts,” Lt. Jules Ngongo, a spokesperson for Congo’s military in the east, said by phone. He described the group’s attacks as “acts of revenge against the population, thus reprisals against our people.”
The number of ADF fighters in Congo is unclear, but they are a significant presence in the region and regularly attack civilians. The group originated in the late 1990s in Uganda and became affiliated with Islamic State in 2019. Muslims make up about 10% of the Congolese population, and most of them live in the east.
In recent years, ADF attacks have intensified near the border with Uganda and spread toward Goma, eastern Congo’s main city, as well as neighboring Ituri province. Last year, the ADF killed 66 people and abducted several more in a neighboring area.