Massacre in Congolese Catholic church kills at least 31 worshippers
Credit: chayanuphol/Shutterstock
By Walter Sánchez Silva
An armed group linked to the Islamic State on Sunday killed dozens of worshippers at a Catholic church in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo while they were participating in a prayer vigil.
According to the BBC, members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) stormed a church in the town of Komanda, where they shot and killed the worshippers, then looted and set fire to nearby businesses.
Komanda is in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, an area rich in minerals and whose control is disputed by several armed groups.
Dieudonne Duranthabo, a coordinator of civil society in Komanda, told the Associated Press: 'More than 21 people were shot dead inside and outside [the church] and we have recorded at least three charred bodies and several houses burned. But the search is continuing.'
Aime Lokana Dhego, a local priest, told AFP: 'We have at least 31 dead members of the Eucharistic Crusade movement, with six seriously injured. Some young people were kidnapped; we have no news of them.'
On the other hand, Radio Okapi estimated the number of dead at 43.
Italy Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Sunday condemned the massacre through his X account: 'I express the strongest condemnation of the attack on a church in Komanda, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a terrorist group linked to ISIS killed more than 40 civilians.'
'Places of worship must always be preserved and religious freedom must be protected. Italy stands in solidarity with the families of the victims and the Congolese people,' he added.
What is the ADF?
The ADF emerged in Uganda in the 1990s, according to the BBC, accusing the government of persecuting Muslims, but is now based across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they regularly attack civilians of all religions, as in Uganda.
Vatican News said the ADF is 'responsible for the murder of thousands of people. Two weeks ago they killed 66 people in the Irumu area.'
Jamil Mukulu, a Christian convert to Islam, is the founder of the ADF, which in early 2024, according to Vatican News, perpetrated an attack also in the eastern part of the country in which at least eight people were killed, five of them while praying, and 30 others were taken hostage.--CNA
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