Islamic State-backed rebels attacked a Catholic church during a midnight mass in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on July 27, 2025, killing at least 43 people in what officials described as a massacre targeting defenseless civilians. The assault occurred around 1 a.m. at a Catholic church in Komanda, a town in Ituri province near the Ugandan border.
The Allied Democratic Force (ADF), a rebel group with ties to the Islamic State, carried out the attack using guns and machetes against worshippers attending the religious service. Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in Komanda, confirmed that attackers shot people both inside and outside the church premises, with at least three bodies found charred and several houses burned during the assault.
The death toll varied among official sources, with civil society leaders reporting 34 confirmed deaths while military officials initially confirmed 10 fatalities. The numbers later increased. Vatican News identified the targeted location as the Parish of Blessed Anuarite. The victims included 19 men, 15 women, and nine children, according to reports from the United Nations peacekeeping mission known as MONUSCO.
A separate attack occurred earlier the same day in the nearby village of Machongani, where five additional people were killed and houses were set ablaze. Civil society leader Lossa Dhekana indicated that attackers took several people into the bush, though their destination and exact number remained unknown. The assailants reportedly came from a stronghold approximately seven miles from Komanda and fled before security forces could arrive at the scene.
Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, spokesperson for the Congolese army in Ituri province, described the incident as an incursion by armed men with machetes who killed and massacred people while setting shops on fire. The Congolese military characterized the attack as a large-scale massacre carried out in revenge for recent security operations targeting the ADF. MONUSCO condemned the church killings as violations of human rights standards and international humanitarian law.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its Telegram channel on July 28, 2025, stating that rebels had killed approximately 45 churchgoers and burned dozens of homes and shops. This attack represents the latest in a series of deadly ADF assaults on civilians, including an earlier incident this month when the group killed 66 people in Ituri province during what UN officials described as a bloodbath.
The ADF originated from tensions in neighboring Uganda during the 1990s, when various discontented groups viewed the government of President Yoweri Museveni as anti-Muslim following the overthrow of dictator Idi Amin. The group moved its operations to the borderlands between Uganda and Congo in 2002 after military assaults by Ugandan forces. In 2019, ADF leaders pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and sought to establish an Islamic caliphate in Uganda.
Eastern Congo has experienced protracted conflicts for decades, dating back to the Rwanda genocide in 1994, with more than 100 armed groups operating in the region according to the United Nations. The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group launched a major escalation in January 2025, capturing two key cities in the region and further complicating the security situation.
Joint military operations between the Congolese and Ugandan armies have targeted the ADF, but analysts indicate these efforts have achieved limited success in protecting civilians. Onesphore Sematumba, Congo analyst at the International Crisis Group, noted that joint operations have only succeeded in dispersing the ADF without protecting civilians from their retaliatory attacks. The analyst explained that the ADF takes advantage of the Congolese army’s focus on M23 advances further south without attracting significant attention.
The attack has sent shockwaves throughout the Central African country, which faces numerous ongoing conflicts. The Congolese government condemned the assault as horrific, while the M23 rebel group used the incident to accuse the government of incompetence in protecting citizens. Pope Leo XIV expressed condolences to bereaved families and the Christian community, stating he would pray for those who lost relatives and friends in the assault.
Local officials indicated that preparations were underway to bury victims in a mass grave at the Catholic church compound, as bodies remained at the scene of the attack. Duranthabo condemned the assault occurring in a town where security officials were present and demanded immediate military intervention, noting that enemies remained near the community. The United Nations peacekeeping mission warned that the church killings would exacerbate an already extremely concerning humanitarian situation in the province.