Islamic Militants Attack Congo Villages Near Uganda, Killing 40 people, Local Group Says

An Islamic State-affiliated group attacked villages in Congo near the border with Uganda, killing at least 40 people and burning and looting homes, a local civil society group said Friday. 
 
The attacks were carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) overnight from Wednesday through Thursday afternoon, according to Charité Banza, the leader of the Ituri civil society group and Kinos Katua, a member of the group who lives in the area. 
 
The Allied Democratic Forces, which has roots in Uganda and which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2019, has long operated in the border region. 
 
In a recent report this week, Amnesty International accused the Allied Democratic Forces of “war crimes and crimes against humanity.” 
  
The ADF is one of the numerous groups operating in Congo and it routinely attacks civilians. In July 2025, the group killed 66 people in eastern Congo in what the United Nations called a “bloodbath.” 
  
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