Fresh Easter Mambasa Attack Puts Focus on DRC’s Next Response to ADF

A new ADF attack near Mambasa in Ituri province has renewed pressure on authorities to clarify their next security response after rebels reportedly burned homes, looted shops and pharmacies, and abducted several civilians during an overnight raid in the Arua and Daresalam neighborhoods.

Local sources said the assault happened during the night of April 5 to April 6, about three kilometers from Mambasa-Centre on the Mambasa-Nduye-Mungbere axis.

According to the report, local residents also said FARDC soldiers intervened to repel the attackers and limit further damage, though no official military statement had been issued by Monday morning. The same report said some of the abducted civilians were allegedly forced to carry looted goods away from the area.

The latest incident comes just days after another deadly ADF assault in Mambasa territory, where officials and local media said dozens of civilians were killed and homes burned along the Mambasa-Kisangani axis, underlining how quickly insecurity has escalated in this part of Ituri.

A reported on April 3 that at least 43 civilians were killed in a recent ADF attack in eastern Congo, while local Congolese reporting put the toll in the Mambasa area at the center of growing alarm.

That broader security deterioration has also been reflected in local institutional reactions. It was reported that FARDC’s Ituri operational sector had officially communicated a death toll of 43 in the earlier Mambasa attack, reinforcing concerns that repeated raids are overwhelming civilian protection efforts.

With all seven chiefdoms in the Mambasa area now described by local voices as exposed to further ADF threats, attention is turning to what Congolese security authorities do next. Any follow-up from FARDC or provincial officials is likely to be closely watched as residents seek reassurance after yet another attack in a territory already shaken by repeated rebel violence.