At least 21 people were killed early Sunday in a deadly assault on a Catholic church compound in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), an attack reportedly carried out by Islamic State-backed militants.
According to local civil society leader Dieudonné Duranthabo, the attackers, believed to be members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), stormed the church premises in Komanda town, Ituri province, around 1am. The ADF is an armed group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and is blamed for hundreds of killings in eastern Congo in recent years.
“More than 21 people were shot dead inside and outside, and we have recorded at least three charred bodies and several houses burned. But the search is continuing,” Duranthabo told The Associated Press, indicating the death toll could rise as investigations proceed.
Local reports suggest the attackers also targeted nearby homes and commercial shops, setting many ablaze during the incursion.
While civil sources put the death toll at 21, the Congolese military gave a lower figure. “What we know this morning is that there was an incursion by armed men with machetes into a church not far from Komanda, where about 10 people were killed and massacred and some shops were set on fire,” Lt. Jules Ngongo, spokesperson for the Congolese army in Ituri province, told reporters.
The ADF, originally a Ugandan rebel group, has operated in eastern Congo for decades and has intensified its attacks in recent years. The United Nations and human rights groups have documented repeated massacres and targeted violence against civilians, particularly in Ituri and North Kivu provinces.
Despite joint military operations by the Congolese and Ugandan armies, the ADF continues to carry out attacks with impunity. In June, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for multiple attacks attributed to the ADF in eastern Congo, further highlighting the threat of transnational militant influence in the region.
The attack on the church marks another grim chapter in the escalating violence in eastern Congo, where conflict between armed groups and security forces has displaced millions and left thousands dead over the past decade.
Authorities say efforts are ongoing to secure the area and conduct further search operations to determine the full scale of the assault.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility by the Islamic State’s Central Africa Province, the regional affiliate often linked to the ADF’s operations.
