In a horrific escalation of violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), militants from the Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) have killed at least 15 people across three villages. The attacks, concentrated in the Lubero territory of North Kivu province, continue a brutal campaign of civilian-targeted violence that has surged amid a complex regional war, leaving communities devastated and international bodies condemning what may amount to war crimes.
The latest attacks occurred on the night of January 1, 2026. According to local officials, the violence struck the villages of Kilonge, Katanga, and Maendeleo within the Bapere locality. Most of the victims were civilians killed with bladed weapons, though the militants also engaged in a gunfight with soldiers in Maendeleo. The assailants also burned homes to the ground, a signature tactic of the group designed to terrorize and displace populations. Local authorities reported that they are waiting for military escorts before organizing funerals, fearing that the ADF will ambush civilians gathering to mourn.
The ADF originated as an insurgent group in Uganda in the 1990s before establishing itself in the dense forests of eastern DRC. It has since evolved into the official Islamic State affiliate in Central Africa, known as the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) . The group is notorious for its extreme violence against civilians. A recent in-depth investigation by Amnesty International details its methods, which include massacring villagers with machetes, hammers, and guns; burning homes and vital facilities like hospitals; and abducting women and girls for sexual slavery and forced marriage.
The United Nations Security Council has listed the ADF for severe violations of international law, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers, systematic killing and maiming of civilians, sexual violence, and attacks on UN peacekeepers. MONUSCO, the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, has repeatedly condemned the group's "truly horrific" massacres, noting that attacks on civilians and medical facilities may constitute war crimes.
Analysts note that the ADF's recent surge in civilian targeting is not happening in a vacuum. It is directly linked to the DRC's military and political focus on a separate, larger conflict with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group further south. As Congolese armed forces (FARDC) redeploy to counter the M23 offensive, they have left a security vacuum in northern areas like Lubero, which the ADF has been quick to exploit.
This dynamic was starkly illustrated in early 2025. When the M23 advanced into Lubero territory, fighting Congolese troops, the ADF seized the opportunity just days later to attack civilians in the same destabilized area. Despite a joint military operation between Uganda and the DRC, Operation Shujaa launched in 2021 to combat the ADF, the group has proven resilient. It has adapted by splintering into mobile camps, moving deeper into remote forests, and consolidating its forces to better defend itself, all while continuing its campaign of terror against civilians.
The conflict in eastern DRC involves a myriad of armed groups and has caused one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises. The ADF's brutality, however, stands out for its sheer ruthlessness and transnational extremist ideology. Survivors and local civil society have issued desperate pleas for the world to pay attention. As one hospital worker told Amnesty International amid a stream of bodies arriving from ADF attacks: "Tell everyone we are being massacred".
While international mediation, led by the United States and Qatar, continues to focus on brokering peace between the DRC, Rwanda, and the M23, the crisis fueled by the ADF receives far less global attention. For the civilians living in the ADF's zones of operation, the new year has begun as the last one ended: in fear, mourning, and a struggle for survival against a group that shows no sign of relenting.