Attack on Church in DR Congo Leaves Dozens Dead, Many Missing

In Komanda, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, a church was attacked by the rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), resulting in a rising death toll. Authorities confirmed that the number of fatalities has increased to 38, with 15 injured and several still unaccounted for.

The ADF, a group of former Ugandan rebels who pledged allegiance to the terrorist organization ISIS in 2019, targeted a Catholic church where worshippers had gathered for prayer.

This attack comes after months of relative calm in the Ituri region near the Ugandan border. The ADF’s last major attack in February killed 23 people in the Mambasa area.

Komanda, a trading hub in the Irumu region, connects three other provinces: Tshopo, North Kivu, and Maniema.

The ADF, originally composed of mostly Ugandan Muslim rebels, has continued to kill thousands of civilians and increase looting and murders in northeastern DR Congo, despite the deployment of Ugandan and Congolese armed forces in the region.