ISLAMABAD (Monitoring Desk); At least 38 people were killed and 15 others wounded when suspected militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) launched a brutal attack on a church in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The assault occurred early Sunday in Komanda, a city in Ituri province, as Catholic worshippers gathered for an overnight prayer vigil organized by the Caritas charity.
The attackers, armed with guns and machetes, stormed the church and targeted the congregants, many of whom were reportedly slain inside the building. Several nearby houses and shops were also set ablaze, and dozens of people are still unaccounted for in the aftermath.
Christophe Munyanderu, a local human rights activist, confirmed that the assailants specifically targeted Christians spending the night in the church. “Tragically, many were killed by machete or gunfire,” he said.
Radio Okapi, a prominent Congolese outlet, placed the death toll at 43, reporting that over 20 victims were slain with bladed weapons inside the church, while more bodies were discovered in nearby burned structures.
According to DRC army spokesperson Jules Ngongo, armed men armed with machetes infiltrated the church in the early hours, creating panic and bloodshed. Dieudonne Duranthabo, a local civil society leader, told the Associated Press that victims were found both inside and outside the church, with at least three charred bodies recovered. He added that search operations are ongoing.
“We are shocked that such an atrocity could occur in a town supposedly secured by government forces,” Duranthabo lamented, noting that some residents have fled to nearby Bunia for safety. He urged immediate military intervention, claiming that the assailants may still be hiding near the area.
The UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) condemned the attack and the recent wave of violence in Ituri province. Earlier this month, dozens were killed in another massacre attributed to the ADF, which a UN spokesperson described as a “bloodbath.”
The ADF, originally a Ugandan rebel group formed in the late 1990s, was born out of opposition to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Following military operations by Uganda’s army, the group shifted its base of operations to eastern DRC in 2002. Since then, it has been linked to thousands of civilian deaths. In 2019, the ADF pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIL), further escalating its attacks in the region.
Claiming to be fighting for a radical Islamist regime in East Africa, the ADF has remained a persistent threat. The DRC military has struggled to contain the group, especially amid renewed conflict involving M23 rebels allegedly backed by Rwanda, complicating the security landscape in the already volatile region.
