ADF rebels attacked the Byambwe Reference Health Center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Christian-majority Lubero territory early Saturday morning, executing at least 18 patients in their hospital beds.

After looting hospital supplies, the rebels burned several nearby homes, killing two more people.

The civil society of the Bapere sector called for large-scale military operations to secure this area, which it said has “become a theater of civilian massacres,” as reported by its president, Kakule Samuel. He warned that the violence is pushing residents to flee toward Butembo, and fears that the road axis could be cut off following the Byambwe attack.

Concerned by the repeated attacks, Honorable Mwami Bogombi Faïsi Enock, a member of the North Kivu Provincial Assembly in Beni, pleaded for help.

“After repeated ADF incursions in Mayeba in the previous two days and the tragic attack in Byambwe this night, where patients were executed and homes burned, our region has become a human slaughterhouse,” Enock said. “We ask why the government treats us as if our warnings have no value. Do the deaths you see mean nothing? Tell us how you can listen so we can express our despair. We are exhausted.”

As of midday, no official statement had been issued by administrative authorities or the National Army.

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