A devastating massacre at a Catholic church in eastern Congo has left at least 43 people dead, including nine children, after masked assailants affiliated with the Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) launched a brutal attack in the early hours of Sunday morning.
As reported by The Times UK, the victims — members of a Catholic youth group — had been celebrating their silver jubilee and were asleep in the parish hall of the Blessed Anuarite Catholic Church in Komanda, Ituri province. They were ambushed shortly after a late-night rehearsal for Sunday Mass, with survivors describing scenes of horror as attackers wielding machetes and firearms stormed the building.
“I waited quietly for my turn to die,” said Pierre Abendi, 21, one of the few survivors, who hid behind a mattress as his friends and leaders were tied up, slashed, beheaded, or shot.
The attack has sparked widespread grief and condemnation, with Pope Leo XIV expressing his “consternation and profound grief.” The ADF, originally a Ugandan rebel group now aligned with the Islamic State, claimed responsibility. UN peacekeepers confirmed the death toll and reported that a dozen more remain missing, feared abducted or killed.
Instead of leading jubilee festivities, Father Joel Lingongi Awiale was forced to preside over a mass burial at the church compound. “The dead had dreams — ambitions for their families, communities, churches, and country,” he said. “But without protection, their throats were slit.”
Footage of the funeral, shared widely on social media and covered by The Times UK, shows rows of coffins being lowered into a mass grave as anguished cries echoed across the parish grounds. “What are the security services doing?” one mourner cried. “They’re doing nothing at all.”
Criticism is mounting over the perceived failure of Congolese authorities, Ugandan forces stationed in the region since 2021, and the UN’s Monusco peacekeeping mission — the largest and most expensive of its kind globally. Monusco condemned what it called a “resurgence of violence” by the ADF, which killed 47 others earlier in July.
The attack is part of a broader pattern of escalating violence in the mineral-rich eastern DRC, where dozens of armed groups vie for control. Analysts and Christian charities suggest the ADF is increasingly targeting non-Muslims. However, some observers caution that civilians of all backgrounds are at risk due to the region’s instability.
Founded by Jamil Mukulu, a former Catholic who converted to radical Islam, the ADF has long aimed to overthrow Uganda’s government. Mukulu, now on trial for terrorism and murder in Uganda, previously operated across international borders — even using a British passport and reportedly preaching at a mosque in Tottenham, North London. UN investigations have linked ADF financing to money transfers from Britain and to mineral profits in the Congo.
According to a 2023 U.S. State Department report, the ADF now finances itself through control of mining operations and smuggling gold and other critical minerals used in electronics and green technologies — a factor that adds geopolitical complexity to the region’s turmoil.
While the Biden administration had previously expanded counter-terror operations in the region, former President Donald Trump recently pledged to bring “peace through prosperity” in eastern Congo, tying American support to access to strategic mineral reserves. But many experts believe that any meaningful resolution must grapple with the entrenched chaos that has enabled groups like the ADF to thrive.
Meanwhile, grief and fear grip the town of Komanda, where the latest atrocity has shattered a community and underscored the severe consequences of regional instability. With more funerals than celebrations, Father Awiale summed up the community’s pain: “They were just children with dreams. Now they are martyrs.”
