At least twenty people have been killed in a series of attacks by suspected jihadist fighters in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in one of the most violent stretches the region has seen in recent weeks. The assaults took place in the Beni territory of North Kivu province, where communities have long lived under the threat of armed groups.
According to local reports, the three attacks were carried out between the twelfth and the fifteenth of July by fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces, a group linked to the Islamic State. The Allied Democratic Forces have waged a prolonged insurgency in the east of the country, and their operations have repeatedly targeted civilians in and around Beni.
In the first of the attacks, on Sunday, the fighters targeted an area to the west of the city of Beni. Seven civilians were killed there, and three soldiers of the Congolese armed forces were ambushed, underlining the danger faced both by residents and by the security forces trying to protect them.
Overnight on Tuesday, the group struck the town of Mangina, near the border with Ituri province, where four civilians were killed. Mangina has been a recurring flashpoint in the conflict, and its position close to the provincial boundary has left it exposed to fighters moving through the surrounding forests.
The violence in Mangina did not end there. On Thursday, a further ten people were killed in a separate assault on the same town, pushing the overall toll from the three attacks to at least twenty. The repeated targeting of the same area in the space of a few days has deepened the sense of insecurity among residents.
Survivors have been fleeing towards the centre of Beni, which has so far been spared from the attacks. The movement of people seeking safety adds to a humanitarian situation that was already strained, with many families having been displaced by earlier waves of violence in the region.
The latest attacks are part of a long pattern of assaults attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces, whose activities have claimed many lives in eastern Congo over the years. As communities count the cost of the past week, the authorities face renewed pressure to strengthen protection for civilians in an area where security remains fragile.