The African Union (AU) has condemned the “massacres” in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern regions, which have resulted in the deaths of 150 people since the beginning of June 2024. The AU Commission’s chairman, Moussa Faki Mahamat, expressed dismay over the escalating violence against civilians by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in North Kivu’s Beni and Lubero areas.
Mahamat urged the Congolese authorities, in collaboration with regional countries, to intensify efforts to contain the terrorist threat posed by the ADF, which has been active in eastern DR Congo for decades and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2019. Despite ongoing joint operations by the Congolese and Ugandan armies since late 2021, aimed at curbing the ADF’s activities, attacks on civilians have persisted.
