BUNIA, DR Congo, March 1, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - At least 23 people were killed and about 20 taken hostage this week in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by a group linked to Islamic State, local sources told AFP Friday.

The attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were carried out Tuesday and Wednesday in Ituri province along the border with Uganda.

"A total of 23 people executed by these rebels" in the villages of Matolo and Samboko, Jospin Paluku, coordinator of one of the main civil society organizations in Mambasa territory, told AFP, specifying that the toll is provisional.

At least another 20 civilians were "taken hostage, including the son of the village chief of Matolo", he added.

Humanitarian groups confirmed the numbers and said they were likely to rise. The victims were mostly farmers working in the fields, a local police chief said.

ADF, which is made of former Ugandan rebels, has been implanted since the mid-1990s in the north-east of the DRC, where it has killed thousands of civilians despite the deployment of the Ugandan army alongside the Congolese armed forces.

At the end of 2021, Kampala and Kinshasa launched a joint military operation against the ADF, called "Shujaa", without so far managing to put an end to their operations.

Paluku said it was the first ADF attack since the start of the year, after a three-month lull.