The death toll from a brutal attack on a Catholic church in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has climbed to 34, according to local civil society leaders, with fears that the number may yet rise.
The assault, believed to have been carried out by Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, took place in the early hours of the morning in Komanda, a town in Ituri province. According to Dieudonné Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in the area, the victims’ bodies remained at the scene for several hours as volunteers began preparing a mass grave within the church compound.
“The bodies of the victims are still at the scene of the tragedy, and volunteers are preparing how to bury them in a mass grave that we are preparing in a compound of the Catholic church,” Duranthabo told the Associated Press.
At least five additional people were killed in a separate assault on the nearby village of Machongani. Local leaders reported that several residents were abducted and taken into the bush, with their number and whereabouts still unknown.
“They took several people into the bush; we do not know their destination or their number,” said Lossa Dhekana, another civil society representative in Ituri.
The ADF rebels, notorious for their use of guns and machetes, stormed the church at approximately 1 a.m., torching nearby homes and shops. The military initially confirmed 10 fatalities, but local media and humanitarian sources report the total number of deaths to be more than 40.
Video footage circulating online shows the aftermath of the attack, burnt structures and bodies strewn across the church floor. Survivors wailed in anguish as they tried to identify the dead, while others stood in stunned silence.
A U.N.-backed radio station cited security sources in stating that 43 people were killed. It reported that the attackers fled from their stronghold, located around 12 kilometres (7 miles) from Komanda’s centre, before security forces could intervene.
Duranthabo condemned the attack, calling for urgent military action. “This happened in a town where all the security officials are present,” he said. “We demand military intervention as soon as possible, since we are told the enemy is still near our town.”
Eastern Congo faces attack
Eastern Congo continues to endure relentless violence at the hands of armed groups, including the ADF and M23, a rebel group allegedly supported by Rwanda. The ADF, which emerged in Uganda in the late 1990s following discontent with President Yoweri Museveni’s rule, moved into Congo in 2002 after military pressure forced them across the border.
Since pledging allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019, the ADF has escalated its brutal tactics, targeting civilians and sowing terror across Ituri and North Kivu provinces. Earlier this month, the group was blamed for another massacre in Ituri, which a United Nations spokesperson described as a “bloodbath.”
Despite ongoing military operations, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) have struggled to contain the violence, as attacks continue to destabilise communities and overwhelm local authorities.
