The Democratic Republic of Congo's government declared a security emergency in its eastern Ituri and North Kivu provinces on Saturday, mobilising additional Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) battalions following Thursday's massacre by Allied Democratic Forces militants linked to the Islamic State, which left at least 43 civilians dead in a village near Beni.

President Félix Tshisekedi convened an emergency cabinet meeting in Kinshasa on Saturday morning, where officials announced the deployment of rapid-reaction units and called on the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) to provide air support for operations targeting ADF bases in the Rwenzori foothills. The government also declared three days of national mourning for the victims.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement condemning the attack in the strongest terms, while Belgium and France — both with longstanding ties to the region — urged the Security Council to convene an emergency session. The US State Department, already focused on broader counter-Islamic State operations globally, pledged intelligence-sharing support to Congolese authorities.

Humanitarian organisations on the ground reported that thousands of civilians had fled affected villages toward Beni town, straining already overstretched displacement camps. The International Committee of the Red Cross warned that roads into the attack zone remained insecure, hampering the delivery of medical supplies and food aid to survivors.

Analysts at the Congo Research Group noted that the scale of the Beni-area attack represents a significant escalation in ADF activity, suggesting the group may be reconstituting after losses sustained in joint FARDC-Uganda People's Defence Forces operations in late 2025. Regional observers warned that without sustained military pressure, further large-scale attacks on civilian populations remained highly likely in the weeks ahead.