# Islamic State-linked rebels kill 9 villagers in eastern Congo attack
Event date: 2025-03-09
Islamic State-linked rebels killed at least nine villagers in eastern Congo in an attack that displaced dozens and burned several houses, according to a local official and residents cited in the evidence packet.
The assault happened on Saturday in the village of Ngohi Vuyinga in Lubero territory, North Kivu province. Samuel Kagheni, a local civil society leader, said rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces attacked villagers while they were at their farms, using guns and machetes. He said the death toll could still rise because some people were missing.
The AP report in the packet says the ADF is an Islamic State affiliate in the region and that the attack was one of many that have made eastern Congo one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The region has seen decades of violence from more than 100 armed groups competing for territory and minerals, including Rwanda-backed rebels that have captured two major cities elsewhere in the east.
The latest killings again put the spotlight on the limited reach of state security in the area. César Kambale, a youth leader from nearby Vuyinga village, said the civilian population was still being killed and accused the government of failing to do enough. Those comments reflect a broader frustration in communities where attacks on farms and villages have become routine enough to drive people from their homes.
The evidence packet says the attack displaced dozens of people and left several houses burned down. That detail matters because it shows the damage was not limited to the nine confirmed deaths. For rural families in North Kivu, an armed raid can mean the loss of crops, shelter and the ability to return to work even after the gunfire ends.
Eastern Congo’s conflict is often described in numbers, but the packet’s reporting also points to a daily reality of fear and movement. Millions of people have been displaced in the wider region, making it the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. The attack in Ngohi Vuyinga fits that pattern: civilians working in fields, armed men striking quickly, and families forced to flee.
The AP evidence does not identify the attackers by name beyond the ADF connection, and it does not include a military response or casualty report from the Congolese armed forces. What it does provide is a local account of the violence and its immediate effects on the village. With missing people still unaccounted for, officials and residents said the toll could rise.
That uncertainty is common in remote conflict zones. Initial counts often come from local leaders and survivors before authorities can verify the full impact. Even so, the report is clear that at least nine villagers were killed, houses were burned and dozens were forced out of their homes in a single attack.
The event date supplied with the packet is March 9, 2025, but the conflict it describes is much older. What changed in this incident was the toll on a specific farming village and the reminder that the ADF remains able to strike civilian targets in North Kivu despite years of military operations and international concern.
For now, the evidence supports a stark account: armed rebels crossed into a rural community, killed farmers and villagers, burned homes and added another grim chapter to the east Congo emergency.
