At least 36 people have been killed in two days of attacks by Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Forces rebels in the Biakato area of Ituri province, drawing renewed international attention to one of Africa’s most overlooked humanitarian crises.
Communities in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo are demanding answers after Islamic State-linked ADF rebels killed at least 36 civilians in a two-day offensive across the Ituri province. The attacks, which targeted the town of Biakato and surrounding villages, were described by survivors as a coordinated campaign of slaughter.
The ADF — Allied Democratic Forces — are one of the most lethal rebel groups operating in the Great Lakes region of Africa, responsible for massacres stretching back years. Their stated goal has been the establishment of an Islamic state across parts of eastern DRC, and their methods have been brutal: machetes, mass shootings, village burnings, and systematic attacks on communities suspected of collaborating with the Congolese army or MONUSCO peacekeepers.
A Region Forgotten by the World
The attack in Biakato, approximately 70 kilometres from the provincial capital, follows a familiar and devastating pattern. ADF fighters surprised people in their homes and started killing them with machetes and firearms, according to accounts gathered by monitors on the ground. At least 36 were confirmed dead by Friday, though local officials fear the toll could rise as more villages are reached and communications restored.
Ituri is bleeding again, read one social media post that went viral across the region. The world watches but does not act.
Tshisekedi Under Pressure
The massacre comes at a politically charged moment for President Félix Tshisekedi, who is facing mounting criticism over his handling of eastern Congo’s security crisis. Opposition leader Martin Fayulu accused Tshisekedi of seeking to cling to power at any cost — a charge that gained traction as the massacre added to a growing sense that state authority is collapsing in large swaths of the country.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Ituri and North Kivu continues to deteriorate. The UN World Food Programme has warned of looming famine in several regions controlled by armed groups. Health workers have been targeted. Schools have been burned. Displacement camps that already house hundreds of thousands are overcrowded, underfunded, and increasingly vulnerable to attack.
As rebel massacres in Ituri mount and the state struggles to respond, the Democratic Republic of Congo faces a crisis that the international community can no longer afford to ignore. The human cost is measured in lives lost, families shattered, and a generation of children growing up knowing nothing but war.