The victims were participating in a prayer vigil when militants entered the church, shooting and hacking to death around 40 people.
At least 40 people, including many children, were killed in a massacre in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the early hours of Sunday, 27 July.
The attack took place in the east of the country, in the location of Komanda, Ituri.
According to information gathered by pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) the victims were killed by militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a terrorist group that has pledged loyalty to the Islamic State and has committed many such atrocities in the DRC.
Fr Marcelo Oliveira, a Comboni missionary who has been in the DRC for many years, told ACN that the victims were part of a movement called Eucharistic Crusade and were participating in a prayer vigil, as part of a summer holiday formation session.
“The attack occurred at around 01:00 in the morning. The rebels entered the church and murdered a large number of children, both inside the church building and in the compound. We continue to pray for peace in this immense country and to ask for the grace of peace,” he said in a message sent to the Portuguese office of ACN.
An inspection of the scene showed that the victims were shot and hacked to death with machetes. The total death toll has not been confirmed but is around 40 people, possibly more.
According to a local UN-backed radio station the rebels came from an area located around 12 km away. The terrorists also set fire to several homes and shops in Komanda, melting back into the darkness of the bush before the security forces arrived at the scene.
DRC continues to be steeped in terrible violence, preventing development and hindering the ordinary lives of civilians. Among the many groups that fight each other throughout the country, the ADF has become known for its particular cruelty. In February of 2025, the Islamists murdered around 70 people in a Protestant church in Lubero, and in 2024, several Christians were killed in North Kivu.
Several international organisations and figures, including the foreign ministry of Italy and the Bishops’ Conference of France, have already publicly condemned this latest massacre.
ACN urges all parties to strive to protect civilians and places of worship in the Democratic Republic of Congo and calls on its friends and benefactors to pray for the victims of this horrific attack, and for peace to finally arrive in this African country.
By Paulo Aido.
