ADF Attacks in Ituri Kill 50 in One Week

Mambasa, Ituri, March 21, 2026 - The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) terrorist group has killed 50 people in Mambasa Territory, Ituri Province, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo over the course of a single week, local sources report. According to a civil society organization operating in Ituri, 35 people were killed in Muchacha and 15 in Babesua between March 9 and 15. The attacks also involved the burning of multiple homes and widespread looting of property. The violence has forced residents of several villages along the main RN4 road to flee to Mambasa and Niania centers, where they now live in precarious conditions, with agriculture and mining-the primary livelihoods in the region-disrupted. The organization called on the DRC government to prioritize security in Ituri and mount stronger operations against the ADF, similar to efforts targeting the AFC/M23 coalition in North and South Kivu. “The DRC government should urgently address the security situation in Ituri, which undermines governance, and undertake extensive operations against the ADF while assisting the people of Mambasa who are in immediate danger,” a spokesperson said. Reports, including those from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), confirm that the ADF remains the deadliest armed group in the country, responsible for the highest number of killings in the DRC.