Kinshasa, Congo
AP
–
At least 21 people were killed on Sunday in an attack on church grounds in eastern Congo by Islamic State-backed rebels.
The attack was carried out by members of the Allied Democrat Forces (ADF) around 1am on the premises of the Catholic Church in Commanda in eastern Congo. Several houses and shops were also burned.
“More than 21 people have been shot dead inside and outside, at least three burnt bodies and several homes burned. But the search continues,” Commanda’s civil society coordinator, Dieudonne Duranthabo, told The Associated Press.
Earlier this month, the group killed dozens of people in Ituri, what a UN spokesman described as a blood band.
A spokesman for the Congolese military in Ituri province, where Comanda is located, confirmed that 10 people have died.
“What we know this morning is that there was an armed man invasion of the church by armed men into a church not far from Commanda, where around ten people were killed, slaughtered and several shops were placed on fire.”
The ADF is a rebel group that has ties to Islamic states and operates in the Uganda-Congo border area, and has routinely engaged in attacks on civilians.
“We’re really disappointed because it’s hard to believe that such a situation could happen in a town with all the security guards,” Duranzabo said. “Some citizens are beginning to flee the area and heading for Bunia.
“The enemy is said to be still close to our town, so we will request military intervention as soon as possible.”
The ADF was formed by different small groups in Uganda in the late 1990s following allegations of complaints with Yoweri Museveni.
Following a military attack by the Ugandan army in 2002, the group moved its activities to nearby DRCs, and has since been responsible for killing thousands of civilians. In 2019, he pledged his loyalty to the Islamic State. ADF leadership considers the Islamic government of the East African country.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) military has long struggled with rebel groups and has been tackling a complex web of attacks since new hostilities among the Rwandan-backed M23s.
