Four wards housing patients were set alight during the assault in Byambwe, a remote community about 60 kilometers west of Lubero in the restive North Kivu province, which has been plagued by fighting between a plethora of armed groups and national security forces for years.
Coordinated murders
The Byambwe massacres were part of a series of coordinated attacks carried out between 13 and 19 November in several towns in Lubero territory.
According to information collected on the ground by UN human rights staff from the MONUSCO peacekeeping mission, 89 civilians were killed in total, including at least 20 women and an unknown number of children.
Other areas affected by violence are Mabiango, Tunarudi, Sambalysa, Thucha and Butsili, where abuses ranged from kidnappings and looting of medical supplies to burning homes and destroying property.
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said at Friday’s briefing in New York that “As we dig deeper and send people there, the information we have received is truly horrible..”
The UN expressed its condolences to the affected families and communities, highlighting that attacks against civilians, particularly medical facilities, may constitute war crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian law.
Solidarity with the victims
“We express our solidarity with all those affected,” Dujarric said. “Violence committed against civilians, including attacks on medical facilities, may constitute war crimes..”
MONUSCO said it remains fully committed to supporting the Congolese authorities in protecting civilians, preventing further human rights violations and combating impunity.
The stabilization mission urged national authorities to quickly open independent and credible investigations to identify those responsible for the massacres and bring them to justice.
He also renewed his call to armed groups operating in the region to lay down their arms unconditionally.
Dujarric said that “too often” massacres like those reported in Lubero “happen outside the eyes of journalists, far from the eyes of the international community.”
he called that regional powers cooperate and that armed groups disarm, “so that those responsible for these crimes that go beyond words (can) be brought to justice.”
Who are the ADF?
The Allied Democratic Forces are an armed group of Ugandan origin that has operated in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for decades.
Known for its brutal attacks on civilians, the ADF has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and is considered one of the deadliest non-state armed organizations in the region.