Kasanzi attack

Kasanzi attack
Part of Allied Democratic Forces insurgency of the Kivu conflict
Location	Kasanzi, Beni Territory, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo
Date	August 28, 2021
Deaths	19
Injured	Unknown
Perpetrator	Islamic State - Central Africa Province

On August 28, 2021, jihadists from the Allied Democratic Forces (also known as the Islamic State - Central Africa Province, ISCAP) attacked the village of Kasanzi, Beni Territory, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nineteen civilians were killed in the massacre, and the attack was part of a larger spree by ISCAP against villages in Beni Territory.

Background

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) was founded in Uganda in the 1990s, gaining prominence as an Islamist rebel group and conducting deadly attacks on civilians in the early 2010s. The group pledged bay'ah to the Islamic State in 2019 and began carrying out its first attacks under the ISCAP moniker months later. Beginning in 2021, the ADF carried out dozens of deadly massacres against villages in North Kivu, attacking villagers along ethnic and religious lines.

Attack

During the massacre, the ADF jihadists looted and burned homes in the village of Kasanzi near Virunga National Park. Congolese authorities stated that the attackers used machetes and guns to attack the populace. Civilian groups stated that there were no Congolese soldiers stationed nearby to prevent the attack. Initial reports stated that five bodies were found in the village and thirteen houses were torched and looted. The next day, searches by authorities and the Red Cross discovered fourteen more bodies in fields surrounding the village. Others had been killed returning or fleeing from the village.

Congolese authorities attributed the attack to the ADF/ISCAP, although the group did not claim responsibility.