Local officials reported that a brutal assault by Islamic State-affiliated rebels resulted in at least 34 fatalities on Sunday at a Catholic Church in eastern Congo.
Dieudonne Duranthabo, the civil society coordinator for Commanda in Ituri Province, told the Associated Press that an attacker, armed with a gun and a machete, struck the church in Comanda around 1 AM.
The violence extended to include several homes and shops that were set ablaze.
“The victims’ bodies are still at the site of the tragedy, and volunteers are preparing to lay them to rest in mass graves we’ve arranged at the Catholic Church complex,” Duranzabo shared with the Associated Press.
Footage from the scene, shared on Aljazeera, depicted burning structures and lifeless bodies on the church floor.
Reports indicate that at least five individuals were killed in earlier attacks on the nearby village of Machanni.
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are suspected to be behind both attacks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
This rebel group has historically operated along the border between Uganda and Congo, having been established in Uganda in the late 1990s amid complaints against President Museveni.
According to CNN:
After a military assault by the Ugandan army in 2002, the group moved its operations to adjacent areas in DRC, where it has since been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians. In 2019, it declared loyalty to the Islamic State, aiming to establish an Islamic governance in East Africa.
As noted by Breitbart News, recent developments in Congo led President Trump to welcome Rwandan’s foreign minister and the Congolese officials to the White House, where a significant peace agreement was signed to end a prolonged conflict between the two nations.
It seems that Congolese security forces were present in the area when the attack occurred on Sunday.
“We’re really disappointed because it’s hard to imagine such a thing could happen in a town with security personnel around,” Duranzabo remarked. “Some residents are starting to flee toward Bania.”
Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, is located about 45 miles from the Ugandan border.
