On 14 August 2016, multiple assailants raided the district of
Rwangoma in the city of
Beni which is located in
North Kivu
North Kivu () is a Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital city is Goma. Spanning approximately 59,483 square kilometers with a population esti ...
of the
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
(DRC). The city is located in the popular
Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park is a national park in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was created in 1925. In elevation, it ranges from in the Semliki River valley to in the Rwenzori Mountains. ...
. At least 64 people were killed, as 64 bodies had been located during the search. Officials estimate the death toll to be from 75 to 101. An unknown number of people were injured. The Ugandan rebel group
Allied Democratic Forces
The Allied Democratic Forces (; abbreviated ADF) is a Ugandan Islamist rebel group based in western Uganda and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is considered a terrorist organisation by the Ugandan government and the United States. ...
(ADF) were suspected to be behind to attack by the DRC.
The incident is another in a series of massacres in Beni that have left over 700 people dead since October 2014.
In 2018, a Congolese military tribunal convicted 134 people for the 2016 massacre and killings in previous years. The convicted were a mix of ADF rebels, militia fighters, civilians and local chiefs.
Background
Since October 2014 over 700 civilians have been killed in a series of massacres in and around Beni alone, with over 1,150 people being killed and kidnapped, and thousands more being displaced in North Kivu province since 2014.
Uganda
Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
n President
Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...
and DRC President
Joseph Kabila
Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who served as the fourth President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination o ...
spoke about seeking a coordinated military strategy against the ADF during a 4 August meeting. On 8 August, less than one week before the massacre, an "armed group" killed 14 people near Beni. The blame for this attack centred on
Mai-Mai
The term Mai-Mai or Mayi-Mayi refers to any kind of community-based militia group active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that is formed to defend local communities and territory against other armed groups. Most were formed to resis ...
ethnic militias, ethnic militant groups, and the
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda
The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (, FDLR; , IDKR) is an armed rebel group active in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. As an ethnic Hutu group opposed to the ethnic Tutsi influence, the FDLR is one of the last fact ...
. 150 houses were destroyed in this attack that occurred immediately after President
Joseph Kabila
Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who served as the fourth President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination o ...
left the area. The president was in Beni three days before the 14 August massacre. Another attack by the ADF left a group of soldiers and
UN peacekeepers
Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role of the United Nations's Department of Peace Operations and an "instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace". It is ...
wounded not long before the attack.
Attack
Attackers passed by military bases before going into the city, yet did not attack anyone there. The men came out of the forest near the city, and some were disguised as army members. The attackers were described as using melee weapons, and hacked people to death. Some attackers were spotted with guns, yet they were only seen using the guns as melee weapons. Machetes were also wielded by the attackers, with 51 bodies being found with machete wounds. The attack occurred during nighttime, confirmed Beni mayor
Nyonyi Bwanakawa. The DRC claimed that they had found 64 bodies and were still searching, and officials said that the death toll will eventually reach 75 or 101. The number of injured is unknown, although ''
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
'' was able to locate a wounded survivor, who provided an interview.
Aftermath
Perpetrators
Congolese officials all blamed the attack on the Islamic
Ugandan
Demographic features of the population of Uganda include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and others.
Population
According to the total population was in , comp ...
rebel group called the
Allied Democratic Forces
The Allied Democratic Forces (; abbreviated ADF) is a Ugandan Islamist rebel group based in western Uganda and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is considered a terrorist organisation by the Ugandan government and the United States. ...
, although the attack has many similarities to attacks that are committed by
Boko Haram
Boko Haram, officially known as Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...
. A Congo Research Group at the
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
claimed that army soldiers have participated in the series of massacres, which includes the one in Beni, although the government strongly denied these claims.
In 2018, 134 people were convicted for their involvement in violence in Beni, including the 2016 massacre.
Much of the group, a mix of ADF rebels, militia fighters, civilians and local chiefs, were convicted in absentia.
42 were sentenced to death. Only one army officer was convicted.
Domestic reaction
The president of the DRC,
Joseph Kabila
Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who served as the fourth President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2001 to 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination o ...
, labelled the attack as terrorism and issued a statement: "The terrorist massacre happening at the moment in the east is not different from what happened in
Mali
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Somalia
Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...
and other corners of the world".
After the attack, Kabila held a meeting with the members of the provincial supreme defense council in the capital of North Kivu province,
Goma
Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the North Kivu, North Kivu Province; it is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with the Bukumu Chiefdo ...
. Many high government officials also attended the meeting. The president then sent members of the national defense council along with Prime Minister
Augustin Matata Ponyo
Matata Ponyo Mapon (born 5 June 1964) is a Congolese politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 18 April 2012 to 17 November 2016. Previously he served as Minister of Finance from 21 February 2010 t ...
to Beni. After arriving in Beni, he issued a statement. Ponyo called the incident a part of
asymmetric warfare
Asymmetric warfare (or asymmetric engagement) is a type of war between belligerents whose relative military power, strategy or tactics differ significantly. This type of warfare often, but not necessarily, involves insurgents, terrorist grou ...
, and started to work on his delegation's response to the incident. Flags were thrown at half mast and a three day long period of mourning was announced.
Six suspects were eventually arrested and their hearing was attended by hundreds of people.
International reaction
* :
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
called the international reaction to the incident a "shameful silence" He called for peace and harmony, and issued a statement: "My thoughts go to the people of North Kivu, in the DRC, who have been recently hit with fresh massacres, which have for some time been perpetrated in shameful silence, without attracting even as much as our attention. Unfortunately, they are part of the too many innocent people who have no weight on world opinion."
*
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...
: A district superintendent of the church was wounded and two of his sisters were killed. The superintendent issued a statement, saying that 101 people were killed. Another leader lost three family members. Bishop
Gabriel Unda said that "People are terribly suffering" from the "evil doers". She pleaded people to
pray
File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)''
rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...
with her, while mentioning that the death toll is not yet completely known.
* :
MONUSCO
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or MONUSCO (an acronym based on its French name ), is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A planned withdraw ...
said that it "reiterates its support to the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the
Congolese National Police
The Congolese National Police (, PNC) is the national police force of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The national police consists of 110,000–150,000 officers and operates on the provincial level, answering to the Interior Ministry. It ha ...
" to protect the civilian populations of Beni in the wake of the "barbaric act committed against the civilian population". They also agreed to increase their cooperation in ridding the DNC of armed groups.
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...
strongly condemned the killing while confirming that the UN had deployed forces. His spokesperson also issued a statement on his behalf, noting the recent string of massacres and the need to "bring the assailants to justice".
Protests
After the attack, mass protests broke out, especially because of President Joseph Kabila's recent visit before the attack where he promised "peace and security". People began chanting anti-government slogans, protesting the lack of government security in the wake of thousands of deaths and kidnaps from massacres in the last two years.
On 18 August, protests turned violent as people turned on each other and policemen. Flags of the governing
People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy
The People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (' or PPRD) is a political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the political structure established by the former president of the country, Joseph Kabila.
In the 2006 general ...
were lit on fire. Prime Minister Ponyo was loudly booed as he made a speech. Police and army members fired tear gas into the crowds and warning shots, but to no avail. The protesters barricaded streets, blocking them off. A man was then shot in the head and killed by a policeman, and more violence broke out. In the violence, a policeman was killed, three soldiers were injured, and six civilians were wounded. At least six protesters were violently arrested and taken to a military vehicle, where they were transported away. A woman who people suspected to be a member of the ADF was lynched, stoned, and burnt to death by protesters.
See also
*
Kivu conflict
The Kivu conflict is an umbrella term for a series of protracted armed conflicts in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo which have occurred since the end of the Second Congo War. Including ...
*
Second Congo War
The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on 2 August 1998, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just over a year after the First Congo War. The war initially erupted ...
*
List of terrorist incidents in August 2016
*
List of massacres in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
References
{{coord missing, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Massacres in 2016
August 2016 crimes in Africa
August 2016 in Africa
2010s massacres in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
2016 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
2010s in North Kivu
Allied Democratic Forces
Mass stabbings in Africa
Stabbing attacks in 2016
Massacres of the Kivu conflict
Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo