Congolese rebels linked to Islamic State said to kill at least 13 villagers in Ebola-struck region

Rebels affiliated with the Islamic State attacked a village in Congo near the border with Uganda early Saturday, killing at least 13 people and burning and looting homes, a local civil society group says.

The attacks occurred in the village of Banana École, a suburb of the territorial capital of Mambasa.

Marie-Noelle Anotane, the head of the New Civil Society of Congo/Mambasa, and Sylvain Andali, a local resident, tell The Associated Press that the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, were behind the violence. Both say the attackers used known ADF tactics.

“This death toll of 13 civilians is only provisional because most residents aren’t responding to calls, and searches are continuing in other surrounding villages,” says Anotane.

The attacks forced people to choose between staying or risking travel to other parts of the province where the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak in history rages.

“I decided to leave Mambasa for Bunia because I fear repeated attacks by the ADF,” says Andali. “Many of my neighbors have already died, and I must protect my life and the lives of my family.”

The ADF, which has roots in Uganda and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019, has long operated in the border region. It is one of numerous groups operating in Congo, routinely attacking civilians. In July 2025, the group killed 66 people in eastern Congo in what the United Nations called a “bloodbath.”

The country also faces attacks from roughly 100 other rebel groups, most prominently the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, which has seized key cities in the eastern region.