DR CONGO · SECURITY
Key Facts
- Where Cantine-Aloya, about 60 kilometres west of Beni in North Kivu province, eastern Congo.
- When Thursday night, 5 November 2026, into Friday 6 November, with homes and shops set on fire.
- Toll Local leaders count at least 24 civilians dead; a monitoring project counts 35, including 17 children.
- Blamed The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group linked to Islamic State, according to local sources.
- Context Beni is a main hotspot of Congo’s Ebola outbreak, which has passed 10,500 confirmed cases.
Congo rebels kill at least 24 civilians in a night raid on Cantine-Aloya, a town in North Kivu province, according to local civil society leaders. The attack was blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and began on Thursday night, 5 November 2026, with houses and shops set on fire.
The Kivu Security Tracker, a project that records armed violence in eastern Congo, counted 35 dead, including 17 children. The army had issued no official toll by Friday morning, local reports said, and the region is already fighting an Ebola outbreak.
What Happened at Cantine-Aloya
Cantine-Aloya lies about 60 kilometres (37 miles) west of Beni, near the line between Beni and Lubero territories in North Kivu. Local civil society leaders said the attackers struck at about 11 o’clock on Thursday night and hit several neighbourhoods and the town’s commercial centre.
According to local sources, the attackers burned homes and shops and then withdrew toward the forest. Many residents fled to nearby Mabalako and Kyatsaba, and business in the town stood still on Friday morning.
The Death Toll, Figure by Figure
Local civil society leaders called their count of at least 24 civilians killed provisional. The Kivu Security Tracker counted 35 dead, 17 of them children it said were killed by machete or burned alive.
The same monitor said 17 homes, 15 shops and two health centres were burned. At the Kelekele health centre, several patients, including people suspected of having Ebola, fled into the countryside for fear of the attackers.
How the Authorities Responded
Local sources said joint Congolese and Ugandan forces began a search on Friday, backed by Wazalendo, local volunteer fighters allied with the army. The Congolese army had made no official statement about the attack by Friday morning.
Civil society leaders said security warnings about suspicious movements in recent days had not stopped the raid. They called on the authorities to strengthen protection for civilians.
An Attack in an Ebola Hotspot
The UN humanitarian office, OCHA, said North Kivu accounts for about 60 percent of newly reported Ebola cases in Congo. As of 1 November, health authorities had reported more than 10,500 confirmed cases and over 5,100 deaths nationwide.
James Swan, who heads the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO, met North Kivu’s governor in Beni on Thursday 5 November, the day of the raid. He said Beni is now one of the main Ebola hotspots and that protecting civilians remains the mission’s priority.
In Plain English, Who Is Who
The ADF is an armed group active in eastern Congo that the US State Department treats as the Congo branch of Islamic State. Washington designated it a foreign terrorist organisation in March 2021 and also named its leader, Seka Musa Baluku, a global terrorist.
MONUSCO is the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, and OCHA is the UN body that coordinates humanitarian aid. Beni is both a town and a territory in North Kivu, a province in Congo’s far east.
What It Means for You
OCHA says insecurity keeps hindering work in several Ebola-affected areas, so attacks like this one make it harder for health teams to reach villages. That raises the risk that the outbreak spreads.
Travellers and investors can read our earlier reports on Ebola cases passing 10,000 in Congo and on gold funding for armed groups. Our explainer on why Congo and Rwanda are at war covers the separate M23 conflict.
What Is Not Known
The final death toll is not known, and the figures range from at least 24 to 35. The Congolese army and the administration of Beni territory can answer once they release an official count.
How many patients who fled the Kelekele health centre have been found is not known. Congo’s health authorities can say whether the Ebola response teams have traced them.
More: Africa news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ADF in Congo?
The Allied Democratic Forces is an armed group active in eastern Congo. The US government treats it as the Congo branch of Islamic State.
How many people died at Cantine-Aloya?
Local civil society leaders count at least 24 civilians dead. A monitoring project, the Kivu Security Tracker, counts 35, including 17 children.
Where is Cantine-Aloya?
It is a town in North Kivu province, about 60 kilometres west of Beni. It sits near the border between Beni and Lubero territories.
Who is responding to the attack?
Local sources say joint Congolese and Ugandan forces began a search on Friday. The army had made no official statement by Friday morning.
Sources: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), daily news note on the DR Congo, 4 November 2026; Statements of local civil society leaders and survivors, Cantine-Aloya, Beni territory, 6 November 2026; Kivu Security Tracker, casualty count, 6 November 2026; UN mission MONUSCO, remarks by James Swan in Beni, 5 November 2026; US State Department, media note on terrorist designations of ISIS-DRC, 10 March 2021.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief