Islamist Militants Butcher 38 in Congo Church Massacre

City administrator Jean Kato said the attackers burst into the church shortly after 1:30 a.m. while congregants were attending a night-long vigil. “Several people are still missing after fleeing into the bush,” he added.

Authorities blamed the raid on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan jihadist group that pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2019 and is accused of hundreds of civilian killings in eastern Congo.

Human-rights activist Christophe Munyanderu, who arrived at the scene at daybreak, reported that many victims were attacked at close range. “The rebels mainly targeted Christians spending the night in the church,” he said. “Unfortunately, these people were killed with machetes or bullets.”

Witnesses said nearby houses and shops were also set ablaze. Video posted online showed the church’s corrugated-iron roof collapsed and several bodies lying on the floor, though the footage could not be independently verified.

The Congolese army said it had deployed troops to pursue the assailants, who are believed to have withdrawn toward the dense Ituri rainforest about 12 kilometres east of Komanda.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo condemned what it called “an unacceptable attack on civilians” and urged stronger regional cooperation against armed groups.

Ugandan forces have assisted Congolese troops against the ADF since 2021, but the militia continues to stage deadly hit-and-run strikes, often targeting villages and displaced-persons camps.

Eastern Congo hosts more than six million internally displaced people, according to U.N. figures, and over 120 armed factions are active in the mineral-rich region: