Islamic State-backed rebels killed at least 43 people during an attack on a Catholic church in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on July 27, 2025, according to multiple reports from civil society leaders and security sources.
The attack occurred around 1 a.m. at a Catholic church in Komanda, a town in Ituri province. Members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) stormed the church premises during a nighttime vigil, opening fire on worshippers with guns and machetes.
Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in Komanda, initially said, “More than 21 people were shot dead inside and outside and we have recorded at least three charred bodies.”
The death toll varies across different sources. A UN-backed radio station reported 43 fatalities, citing security sources, while other local officials confirmed 38 dead, with 19 men, 15 women and nine children among the victims. The Congolese military acknowledged at least 10 deaths in the church attack.
Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, spokesperson for the Democratic Republic of Congo Army in Ituri province, confirmed that armed men with machetes had entered the church and massacred worshippers. The attackers also set fire to several houses and shops in the surrounding area, leaving charred bodies and burned structures.
The assault was part of a broader attack pattern that night. Earlier, five people were killed in the nearby village of Machongani, where attackers also took several residents into the bush. Civil society leader Lossa Dhekana indicated that the fate and number of those taken remained unknown.
Video footage from the scene showed burning structures and bodies on the church floor. Survivors and community members who could identify victims were seen wailing while others stood in shock at the devastation.
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) emerged from Uganda in the 1990s following alleged discontent with President Yoweri Museveni’s government. After military pressure from Ugandan forces in 2002, the group relocated its operations to neighboring Congo.
The ADF pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019 and has since been responsible for killing thousands of civilians in the borderland region between Uganda and Congo. The group’s leadership seeks to establish an Islamist government in East Africa.
According to reports, the attackers came from a stronghold approximately 7.5 miles from Komanda’s center and fled before security forces could arrive. The attack occurred despite the presence of security officials in the town, drawing condemnation from local leaders.
Duranthabo criticized the security lapse, noting that the violence occurred in a town where all security officials were present. He demanded immediate military intervention, warning that the enemy remained near the town. Some citizens began fleeing toward Bunia following the attack.
The church massacre represents the latest in a series of deadly ADF attacks on civilians. Earlier in July 2025, the group killed 66 people in Ituri province in what a United Nations spokesperson described as a bloodbath.
Eastern Congo has suffered from protracted conflicts for decades, involving more than 100 armed groups according to the United Nations. The region’s instability dates back to the Rwanda genocide in 1994 and has displaced approximately seven million people from Congo’s population of 106 million.
The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo has long struggled against the ADF, particularly amid renewed hostilities involving the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel movement. The Congolese military faces complex challenges from multiple armed groups operating in the mineral-rich region.
Joint military operations between Congolese and Ugandan forces have targeted the ADF, but analysts indicate these efforts have primarily dispersed the group rather than eliminating the threat to civilians. The ADF continues to conduct reprisal attacks against civilian populations.
The Congolese government condemned the church attack as horrific, while the military described it as a large-scale massacre carried out in revenge for recent security operations targeting the ADF. The Rwanda-backed M23 used the incident to accuse the government of incompetence in protecting citizens.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo warned that the church killings would exacerbate an already extremely concerning humanitarian situation in the province. Bodies of victims remained at the scene as volunteers prepared a mass grave in the church compound.
Security forces, including the DR Congo Armed Forces, Ugandan military, and local police, launched searches for the attackers. All activities in Komanda were suspended following the assault.
