ISIS-linked militants slaughter 89 people at Congo hospital

Isis-linked rebels have brutally slaughtered 89 innocent civilians in multiple attacks across east Congo.

The violent assaults were carried out by fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces in several localities of North Kivu province between November 13 and November 19, and the 89 killed included at least 20 women and an undetermined number of children.

In one of the attacks the rebels attacked a health centre operated by the Catholic Church in Byambwe, killing at least 17 people including women who had gone there to receive maternity care and setting alight four wards housing patients.

Other violations committed by the rebels included abductions in nearby villages and the looting of medical supplies.

Col. Alain Kiwewa, the territory's administrator, said: 'Attacks on health facilities are a crime against humanity.

'These despicable acts must not go unpunished,' Kiwewa said

A UN peacekeeping mission known as MONUSCO said it a statement on Friday: 'MONUSCO urges the Congolese authorities to promptly initiate independent and credible investigations to identify the perpetrators and accomplices of these massacres and bring them to justice'.

Local officials said last month that suspected ADF rebels had killed 19 civilians in an overnight attack in the village of Mukondo in North Kivu province.

FILE PHOTO: Democratic Republic of Congo military personnel (FARDC) patrol against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in 2013

FILE PHOTO: Democratic Republic of Congo military personnel (FARDC) patrol against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in 2013

In September, the ADF claimed responsibility for one of its deadliest attacks in recent months that claimed the lives of more than 60 civilians at a funeral in eastern Congo.

A recent flurry of attacks claimed by the ADF has exacerbated insecurity in east Congo, a mineral-rich region where Rwandan-backed M23 rebels staged a major advance this year.

The ADF started as a rebel force in Uganda but has been based in the forests of neighbouring Congo since the late 1990s, and is recognised by Islamic. State as an affiliate.