MULTIPLE ATTACKS BY DAESH-AFFILIATED GROUP KILL 89 CIVILIANS IN DRC - UN PEACEKEEPERS. (PHOTO).

 Multiple attacks by Daesh-affiliated group kill 89 civilians in DRC - UN peacekeepers

A Daesh-linked group has killed 89 civilians in multiple attacks in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) North Kivu province, the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African country, known as MONUSCO, said.

The attacks were carried out by members of the so-called Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) 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, MONUSCO said in a statement on Friday.

In one of the attacks, it said, the group 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 group included abductions and the looting of medical supplies, it said.

"MONUSCO urges the DRC authorities to promptly initiate independent and credible investigations to identify the perpetrators and accomplices of these massacres and bring them to justice," the statement said.

Recent attacks

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

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 DRC.

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

DRC's army and Ugandan forces have pursued operations against the ADF, but the group's attacks continue.

Other parts of North Kivu province are under the control of M23 rebels who staged a lightning advance this year.

Mediators, including the United States and Qatar, are trying to broker peace in that conflict, which Washington hopes will facilitate Western investments in the mining sector.