[Admin’s comment: Such attacks have become very common, the world yawns on hearing of them. They are now so frequent, that they do not cause any outrage, or concern.]

On Thursday (March 9), the Islamist ‘rebel’ outfit Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) announced that it has murdered 36 Christians in Mukondi village in North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

ADF with close ties with the terror outfit, Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), stated that the killings were targeted at “Christians”. The Islamist outfit added that the murders were executed using guns and knives and that the properties of the deceased were destroyed.

According to local authorities, at least 45 people were killed in a series of attacks on different villages by the Allied Democratic Forces. It must be mentioned that the ADF has been active primarily in North Kivu province but has recently extended its operations to Ituri province and Goma.

On Thursday (March 9), Associated Press reporters witnessed bodies being lowered into a mass grave in Mukondi while community members shovelled dirt over the bodies against a backdrop of destroyed houses.

“The rebels came and they first burned houses. Then everyone who came out of his house was either cut up with machetes or shot dead,” a resident of the Mukondi village, named Saddam Patangoli, informed.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo has condemned the killings and is urging the authorities to investigate the matter. Efforts to stop the violence carried out by ADF have yielded minimal results despite the nearly year-long joint operation by Uganda and Congo’s armies.

US announces a reward of $5 million for the successful capture of ADF supremo

Besides murders, ADF has been involved in raping, maiming and abducting civilians including children. The US government has recently offered a reward of up to $5 million for any information that could lead to the capture of the ADF leader, Seka Musa Baluku.

The ongoing violence in the region continues to claim many lives, and a concerted effort is needed to put an end to the senseless killings and restore peace to the area. There were killings of 30 people by the ADF in November 2020.