KOMANDA, Democratic Republic of Congo (BN24) — At least 21 people were killed early Sunday when suspected Islamic State-backed militants launched a deadly assault on a Catholic church compound in eastern Congo, a local civil society leader said.
The attack occurred around 1 a.m. in Komanda, a town in Ituri province, where members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) stormed the church grounds, shooting worshippers and burning homes and shops in the surrounding area. The ADF is a Uganda-rooted rebel group with longstanding ties to the Islamic State and a violent track record of targeting civilians in eastern Congo.
Dieudonné Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in Komanda, told The Associated Press that at least 21 people were gunned down both inside and outside the church, and that three charred bodies were also recovered among the ruins. “The search is continuing,” he added, suggesting the death toll could rise as responders comb through burned structures.
The Congolese army acknowledged the attack but offered a lower initial toll. Lt. Jules Ngongo, spokesperson for the army in Ituri province, said that about 10 people were “killed and massacred” by armed men wielding machetes during the incursion near Komanda. He confirmed that several shops were set ablaze in the violence.
The ADF has been one of the deadliest rebel groups operating along the porous border region between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Over the past decade, the group has intensified its brutality and was officially designated by the Islamic State as its Central Africa Province affiliate in 2019. Since then, its attacks have increased in both frequency and scale, often targeting remote villages, churches, and humanitarian convoys.
Sunday’s attack marks the latest in a string of atrocities in Ituri and neighboring North Kivu province, where Congolese security forces and a regional military coalition continue struggling to contain militant violence.
AP
