World

ADF Militants Kill 33 in Cantine Village, North Kivu

By AP

Islamic State‑linked militants killed at least 33 people in an overnight attack on the village of Cantine in North Kivu province, eastern Congo, according to a local civil society group. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were blamed for the attack, said Justin Paluku, head of the group, in a statement to The Associated Press. Paluku reported that 33 bodies had been found and more than 50 houses were set on fire, along with other material destruction. The violence forced villagers to flee to other parts of the province, where a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak is ongoing. The ADF, which has Ugandan roots and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019, has long operated in the border region and routinely attacks civilians. In July 2025, the group killed 66 people in eastern Congo in an incident the United Nations described as a “bloodbath.” Roughly 100 other rebel groups operate in Congo, including the Rwanda‑backed M23, which has seized key cities in the east. Paluku said the attack represented a major security failure, noting that it was incomprehensible how the enemy bypassed the deployed loyalist and security forces to kill civilians and cause significant casualties. North Kivu has become one of the epicentres of a deadly Ebola outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has killed more than 5,000 people, and ongoing violence has hampered the response.