At least 43 civilians were killed overnight from Saturday to Sunday in an attack attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), local sources said Sunday.
According to local media reports, ADF fighters stormed a Catholic church early Saturday in the town of Komanda, Ituri Province. A local civil society leader in Komanda said most of the victims, primarily Catholic worshippers, were preparing for Sunday celebrations when the attack took place. Several houses were burned, and an unknown number of people remain missing.
Witnesses said the assailants also looted a local bank and other community properties before retreating into the nearby forest.
The ADF rebels have stepped up assaults in Ituri since early July. In a statement issued earlier this week, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC condemned the recent ADF attacks, which have killed at least 82 civilians in both Ituri and neighboring North Kivu Province.
The ADF, an affiliate of the Islamic State in Central Africa, is a Ugandan rebel group operating in eastern DRC, prompting joint military operations by Congolese and Ugandan forces to pursue the group since November 2021.