At least seven people have been killed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province, as protests erupted over a surge in deadly attacks by insurgents.
Local officials reported that the unrest began after the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group affiliated with the Islamic State, allegedly killed more than 40 people in Mayikengo village this week and over 80 in other villages the previous week.
Public frustration over the violence led to the killing of two soldiers and their driver in Lubero territory, as a crowd torched their vehicle overnight on Friday, according to local official Julio Mabanga.
Further clashes between security forces and residents on Saturday resulted in the deaths of a civilian, a soldier, and an agent of the national intelligence service ANR.
In the city of Butembo, hundreds of youths wielding sticks took to the streets on Saturday, chanting and singing to protest the widespread insecurity. During these protests, Butembo Mayor Mowa Baeki Telly confirmed one civilian was killed in clashes with security forces.
The ADF, originating from neighbouring Uganda, has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and frequently mounted attacks in mineral-rich eastern Congo, a region destabilised by competing militant groups.
The U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group reported that the Islamic State’s Central Africa Province claimed responsibility for killing 51 people in North Kivu this week and beheading over 60 people in a single attack on June 7.
