ADF Islamists Kill Pregnant Women in the DRC
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) is a notoriously brutal Islamist insurgency that emerged in Uganda but now conducts the bulk of its atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where Christians are frequently targeted. Its operations are concentrated in the long-blighted eastern provinces—an area already destabilized by overlapping ethnic and political massacres, criminal networks, and the regional ambitions of Rwanda under the banner of protecting Tutsi communities. Consequently, the DRC continues to be engulfed by relentless bloodshed, driven by a complex web of militant groups and geopolitical rivalries.
In recent weeks, more than 80 civilians have been confirmed killed in a series of targeted attacks. Among the most harrowing incidents was the slaughter of 17 civilians—including pregnant women—by ADF Islamists inside a Catholic-run health center, a place intended to offer safety, care, and compassion. The deliberate killing of expectant mothers in such a sanctuary underscores the sheer depravity of the ADF’s actions. Words scarcely capture the horror of a group capable of such calculated brutality.
During the assault on Byambwe—an isolated community roughly 60 kilometres west of Lubero—four patient wards were deliberately set ablaze. This atrocity unfolded in North Kivu, a province long smothered by a maze of armed groups and heavy-handed security operations. The burning of medical wards in such a chronically war-torn region underscores once again how civilians remain trapped between ruthless militias and a fractured security landscape.
Between 13 and 19 November, a wave of coordinated assaults claimed the lives of more than 80 civilians, including those murdered in the Byambwe massacre. These attacks unfolded across the volatile environs of Lubero Territory, further exposing the extreme vulnerability of communities already battered by years of conflict.
UN News reports, “According to information gathered 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 undetermined number of children.”
Stéphane Dujarric (UN Spokesperson) said, “We express our solidarity with all those affected.”
Dujarric continued. “Violence committed against civilians, including the targeting of medical facilities, may constitute war crimes.”
Ugandan armed forces continue to support central government troops in the DRC, yet the violence shows no sign of abating. Despite joint operations, the death toll keeps rising, driven by relentless ADF massacres that overwhelmingly target Christian civilians. The brutality persists, underscoring the profound limits of current military efforts to contain this ruthless insurgency.
The ADF—alongside a maze of militias and proxy forces backed by regional powers—continues to torment the DRC. Layered atop this unending violence are severe health emergencies that ravage eastern Congo, compounding an already unbearable humanitarian disaster. Cholera, Ebola, malaria, measles, Mpox, tuberculosis, and a host of other diseases stalk entire communities with unrelenting ferocity.
Malnutrition further cripples the population, leaving already-weakened bodies defenseless against infection. In this bleak environment, hunger and disease amplify one another, forming a vicious cycle tightening its grip as much of the world remains indifferent.
The DRC is edging toward full-scale catastrophe in eastern parts of the country. Only immediate and substantial emergency assistance can shield its most vulnerable citizens from a worsening nightmare.
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