At least 33 people were killed when Islamic State-linked militants attacked a village in eastern Congo overnight, setting fire to and looting houses, a local civil society organisation said Friday.
The attack took place in Cantine village in North Kivu province and was carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), said Justin Paluku, head of a local civil society group.
"We have counted 33 bodies so far and more than 50 houses burned, alongside other forms of property destruction," Paluku told the media.
The attack forced many residents to flee to other parts of the province, which is grappling with the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak in history.
The ADF, originating in Uganda, pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2019. It killed 66 people in July 2025 in an attack described by the UN as a "bloodbath."
Around 100 rebel groups operate in Congo, including Rwanda-backed M23, which controls key eastern cities.
Paluku described the attack as a major security failure, questioning how militants bypassed deployed security forces to inflict such heavy casualties.