Allied Democratic Forces rebels have killed 13 people and torched a clinic in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, local officials said on Friday.

Kasereka Ise Mighambo, the mayor of Lume in North Kivu province, said ADF fighters entered the town Thursday night and burned down a health clinic, killing four patients inside.

He added that the militants killed nine more civilians before retreating into Virunga National Park, a world-renowned wildlife haven in Congo’s conflict-torn east.

Local nurse Kule Bwengue also said health authorities had registered 13 deaths in the attack.

A Congolese army spokesman, Captain Antony Mualushayi, reported the loss of nine lives, including those of three children.

He added that an armed group “that supports ADF terrorists” conducted the raid.

Claimed by the Islamic State group as its Central African offshoot, the ADF has been accused of massacring Congolese civilians and carrying out terrorist attacks in neighbouring Uganda.

The DRC and Uganda launched a joint offensive against the ADF in November 2021 to crush the rebels, but violence against civilians continues.