Over 50 People Killed with Machetes at a Funeral

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A night of mourning turned into a bloodbath in the Democratic Republic of Congo as rebels armed with machetes and guns killed more than fifty people at a funeral ceremony.

The brutal attack happened on Monday night in Ntoyo village, in Lubero territory of North Kivu province. According to local administrator Macaire Sivikunula, the victims were taken by surprise while they were gathered at a funeral around 9 p.m.

“I can confirm a provisional death toll of 50. The victims were caught off guard at a mourning ceremony, and most of them were killed with machetes. The search is continuing,” Sivikunula said.

Witnesses described a horrifying scene where people were hacked with machetes, while others were shot and vehicles set on fire.

Colonel Alain Kiwewa, the military administrator for Lubero, told reporters that the number of dead could already be closer to sixty, with more people still missing.

Local civil society leader Samuel Kagheni confirmed that the rebels used both machetes and guns during the slaughter. A resident, Alain Kahindo Kinama, added that Congolese soldiers only arrived the next morning, by which time many villagers were already fleeing for safety.

The Congolese army later admitted that by the time soldiers reached the scene, the rebels had “already committed the massacre.”

The attackers are believed to be members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group that began in Uganda but has been operating in Congo since the late 1990s. The ADF is now recognised as an affiliate of the Islamic State group.

This is the latest in a wave of ADF assaults that have left hundreds dead across eastern Congo in recent months. Just last month, more than fifty civilians were killed in multiple ADF raids. In July, another ADF attack targeted a church service, leaving thirty-eight people dead.

On Monday, the militant group claimed responsibility for five recent attacks on Christian civilians as well as on the Congolese and Ugandan armies, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

Eastern Congo remains one of the most unstable regions in Africa, despite ongoing joint operations by the Congolese and Ugandan armies to weaken the ADF. The province is not only troubled by ADF but also by M23 rebels, who launched a major offensive earlier this year.

As families of Ntoyo mourn their dead, the death toll from this funeral massacre may still rise, with many residents still unaccounted for.