‘Extensive brutality’: Rebel attacks reap hell on Congolese civilians

‘Extensive brutality’: Rebel attacks reap hell on Congolese civiliansISIS-linked group has tortured, killed and abducted civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including children.Amnesty International has accused a rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) of mass war crimes and crimes against humanity.In a damning new report published Monday, the rights group said the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) was behind multiple cases of murder, abductions, forced labour and marriage, sexual abuse of women and girls, and the exploitation of children.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Riots erupt over Australian Aboriginal girl’s murder as suspect arrestedlist 2 of 3Trump’s threat: Why cutting US troops in Europe won’t be easylist 3 of 3Woman killed, children injured as Israel attacks Lebanonend of listThe report is entitled “I’d Never Seen So Many Bodies: War Crimes by the Allied Democratic Forces in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo”. The ADF has been involved in a years-long military campaign against central authorities in Kinshasa and pledged allegiance to ISIS/ISIL, also known as ISIS-Central Africa, in 2019.“Civilians in the eastern DRC have suffered extensive brutality at the hands of ADF fighters. They have been killed, abducted and tortured in a dehumanising campaign of abuse,” Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general, said.“The ADF’s violence is contributing to an escalating humanitarian crisis… These abuses constitute war crimes which the world must not continue to ignore.”The ADF largely operates in eastern DRC, near the Ugandan border, and has for years been in conflict with the government’s Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), along with the UN mission MONUSCO.Repeated ADF attacks have led to mass displacement in parts of the DRC and limited the population’s access to healthcare, food and education.A rebellion by the Rwanda-backed March 23 Movement, better known as M23, has worsened the situation for civilians in the region, while the ADF has taken advantage of international and domestic focus on these attacks to intensify its own military operations in eastern DRC.DRC soldiers search for ADF rebels near Beni in North-Kivu province [Kenny Katombe/Reuters]Amnesty interviewed 71 people, including survivors of ADF attacks, as well as humanitarian workers and police officers, as part of its research in North Kivu province, eastern DRC, where the violence is most prominent.