This archive report was first published on 15 December 2019.
At least 22 civilians have been killed in the Beni region of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militia with Islamist roots.
According to local officials, the victims were farmers, and the attack is the latest in a series of massacres blamed on the ADF since November 5, when more than 100 people died in assaults attributed to the group.
"Teams have been mobilised to recover the bodies and bring them back for dignified funerals," said Donat Kibwana, the Beni region administrator, in a statement to AFP on December 15, 2019.
The ADF's attacks have been met with mounting anger from local residents, who have accused the UN peacekeeping force, MONUSCO, of failing to protect them.
MONUSCO has responded by announcing joint operations with the Congolese army to crack down on the ADF, but the militia has continued to carry out attacks, including a massacre in the eastern city of Beni just a day before the latest incident.
The UN peacekeeping force, which comprises over 16,500 military personnel and observers, 1,300 police, and at least 4,000 civilians, has struggled to make progress in the vast and troubled country, which is also grappling with an Ebola epidemic, poverty, and poor governance.
