KIGALI, Rwanda

At least 29 people, including patients, were killed in the latest attack blamed on Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels that targeted a health center and several villages in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local authorities said Monday.

Residents and local officials recovered 23 bodies from the Byambwe health center in Lubero territory in North Kivu province following the attack, which occurred overnight Friday, Col. Alain Kiwewa, the territory’s administrator, told reporters.

He said the victims from the health facility included 11 women, while additional civilians were killed in three nearby villages.

Byambwe serves as a referral health center for residents, including those displaced by ongoing violence.

Local media reported that the rebels also burned part of the facility’s buildings along with several homes.

“Attacks on health facilities are a crime against humanity. These despicable acts must not go unpunished,” Kiwewa said, urging residents to support joint military operations involving the Congolese and Ugandan armies aimed at eliminating the rebel group.

The attack came weeks after about 20 civilians were killed and several others injured in an attack blamed on the ADF in the same territory in October.

Ugandan and Congolese forces have carried out joint operations against the ADF since 2021.

The group, active in eastern Congo for years, is affiliated with the terrorist organization ISIS (Daesh).