At least 38 killed in church attack in eastern DR Congo

In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), an attack on a church claimed the lives of at least 38 people and injured 15 others.

The church in Komanda city, Ituri province, was the site of the attack early on Sunday, when members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were allegedly armed with guns and knives.

The ADF has ties to ISIL (ISIS), a rebel group that runs operations on the border between Uganda and the DRC and regularly targets civilians.

Numerous people have been missing since the attack, which occurred while Catholic Christians were observing a prayer vigil at the church, which was being held by the Caritas charity.

According to Christophe Munyanderu, a human rights activist at the scene in Komanda, “the rebels primarily attacked Christians who were spending the night in the Catholic church.” These people were sadly killed using machetes or bullets, according to the report.

The death toll was 43, according to Radio Okapi in the DRC, blaming the ADF. More than 20 people were killed while attending a church’s prayer vigil, according to the radio. “Other bodies were discovered in nearby burned-out homes”

According to DRC army spokesman Jules Ngongo, “we know that there was an incursion by armed men with machetes into a church not far from Komanda.”

A leader of civil society told The Associated Press that at least three charred bodies were discovered inside and outside the church, according to a leader in the organization.

However, the search for bodies is continuing, Komanda’s civil society coordinator Dieudonne Duranthabo told AP.

According to Duranthabo, “We are truly disappointed because it is unbelievable that a situation could arise in a town where all security personnel are present,” adding that some people have since fled the area and relocated to Bunia town.

Since we are informed that the enemy is still close to our town, “we demand military intervention as soon as possible.”

The DRC’s UN Organization for Stabilization has condemned the recent resurgence of violence in Ituri. In a “bloodbath,” according to a UN spokesman, ADF killed dozens of people in the province earlier this month.

In Uganda, a series of disparate small groups formed the ADF in the late 1990s as a result of alleged unrest with President Yoweri Museveni.

The organization moved its activities to the DRC after Ugandan forces launched military assaults in 2002, and it has since been responsible for the killings of countless civilians. It swore allegiance to ISIL in 2019.

The ADF’s leadership claims that the East African nation is battling to establish a hardliner government.