AP: At least 21 people lost their lives early Sunday, 27th July when suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, linked to the Islamic State group, launched a deadly attack on the premises of a Catholic church in Komanda, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in Komanda, the attack took place around 1 a.m. and involved both shootings and arson. “More than 21 people were shot dead inside and outside, and we have recorded at least three charred bodies with several houses burned,” he told the Associated Press. He noted that the search for more victims is ongoing.
The ADF has a history of brutal assaults in the region. Earlier in July, the group was responsible for killing dozens in Ituri province in what a United Nations spokesperson described as a “bloodbath.”
Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, spokesperson for the Congolese army in Ituri, confirmed at least 10 deaths and reported that the attackers used machetes. He said the incursion happened in a church near Komanda and that shops were also torched.
The ADF, originally formed in Uganda in the 1990s, has operated from eastern Congo since 2002. The group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019 and envisions establishing an Islamist government in the region.
“This is deeply disappointing,” Duranthabo lamented. “How can such horror happen in a place with full security presence?” He added that some residents have begun fleeing toward Bunia for safety and urged immediate military intervention, warning that the attackers may still be nearby.
Eastern Congo has long battled instability, with the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) struggling to contain multiple armed groups, including the ADF and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
