Islamic State-linked rebels kill 89 civilians in east Congo attacks, UN force says

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KINSHASA (Reuters) -Islamic State-linked rebels have killed 89 civilians in multiple attacks in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s Lubero territory, the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Central African country, known as MONUSCO, said on Friday.

The attacks were carried out by fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in several localities of North Kivu province between November 13 and November 19, and the 89 killed included at least 20 women and an undetermined number of children, MONUSCO said in a statement.

In one of the attacks, it said, the rebels attacked a health centre operated by the Catholic Church in Byambwe, killing at least 17 people including women who had gone there to receive maternity care and setting alight four wards housing patients.

Other violations committed by the rebels included abductions and the looting of medical supplies, it said.

“MONUSCO urges the Congolese authorities to promptly initiate independent and credible investigations to identify the perpetrators and accomplices of these massacres and bring them to justice,” the statement said.

Local officials told Reuters last month that suspected ADF rebels had killed 19 civilians in an overnight attack in the village of Mukondo in North Kivu province.

In September, the ADF claimed responsibility for one of its deadliest attacks in recent months that claimed the lives of more than 60 civilians at a funeral in eastern Congo.

The ADF started as a rebel force in Uganda but has been based in the forests of neighbouring Congo since the late 1990s, and is recognised by Islamic State as an affiliate.

Congo’s army and Ugandan forces have pursued operations against the ADF, but the group’s attacks continue.

Other parts of North Kivu province are under the control of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who staged a lightning advance this year.

Mediators including the United States and Qatar are trying to broker peace in that conflict, which Washington hopes will facilitate Western investments in the mining sector.  

(Reporting by Congo newsroom; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet, William Maclean)