Sawt Falasteen - DR Congo survivors of IS-linked massacre say army, govt let them down

"There were very young soldiers in the group," said 16-year-old Jean-Claude Mumbere, who survived the massacre by ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) rebels, an armed group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State and mainly targets civilians.

Some of the victims in the village, home to some 2,500 people, were burnt alive in their homes in one of the worst killings in the region in years.

"There were many of them and they spoke a language I didn't understand. From a distance, they wore uniforms that looked like military uniforms," said the teenager, who on Wednesday attended the funeral of his sister -- one of the victims of the latest massacre in North Kivu province.

More than 170 civilians have been killed by the ADF since July in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, according to AFP figures.

North Kivu and Ituri have been a battleground between various armed groups, backed at times by foreign powers, for more than 30 years.

This wave of violence comes as further south, the anti-government armed M23 group, supported by Rwanda and its army, seized the major cities of Goma in North Kivu in January and Bukavu in South Kivu in February.

Didas Kakule, 56, says the first shots broke his slumber. He quickly fled with women and children through banana plantations to shelter in the adjoining forest.

Hidden in darkness, they watched helplessly as flames reduced their homes to ashes.

"The firing lasted for a long time. My house was torched as well as the vehicle that was parked there. Luckily no one was killed in our house," Kakule said.

Jean Claude Mumbere was grazed by a bullet while fleeing.

"It was only after I hid in the forest that I realised I was bleeding," he said.

- Government 'inaction' -

On Wednesday, Ntoyo was deserted with the majority of survivors sheltering in the nearby mining town of Manguredjipa, about seven kilometres (five miles) away.

About 10 corpses were still laid out, covered in shrouds under incessant rain as volunteers dug more graves in addition to the 26 that sported wooden crosses.

Some bodies had been taken by the bereaved families, transported hastily on motorbikes.

Anita Kavugho stood tearfully before her uncle's grave.

His death is a result "of the inaction of authorities who do not react to alerts," she said, clutching a flower in her hand.

As she spoke, some Congolese army pick-up trucks stood parked near a charred vehicle.

The deployment of the Ugandan army alongside the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) in northeastern DRC since 2021 has failed to put an end to the multiple abuses committed by the ADF, a group originally formed by former Ugandan rebels.

Only four Congolese soldiers were present in Ntoyo at the time of the attack, and reinforcements stationed in Manguredjipa, arrived too late.

- Army's 'failure' -

"It's their failure. We tell the soldiers that the attackers are very close, and they can't intervene," Kakule said bitterly.

The ADF had already attacked several towns around Manguredjipa between August 13 and 14, killing more than 40 people.

This latest killing risks widening the "rift" between the army and the population, according to Samuel Kakule, president of the Bapere civil society.

The ADF is "dispersing into small groups to attack our rear," said Lieutenant Marc Elongo, spokesman for the Congolese army in the region, who was in Ntoyo on Wednesday.

A few days earlier, Ugandan and Congolese forces had seized an ADF stronghold in the area and freed several of the group's hostages, according to the army.

But as is often the case, the ADF dispersed into the forest and struck elsewhere.

This strategy is notably used by the armed group to lure soldiers away from its bases in the neighbouring Ituri province, according to security sources.

N.AbuHussein--SF-PST