Terrorists Massacre 49 at Church Youth Retreat in Congo
“They came in and beheaded Christians in the church,” says eyewitness
The night was thick with prayers and hope in Komanda, a battered township in eastern Congo. What followed was a horror that will haunt this region for decades. Now the survivors are speaking out.
Just after 1 a.m. on Sunday, July 27, armed men stormed the church where dozens of worshipers—many of them children—had huddled for a youth retreat. The attackers, terrorists from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an ISIS-affiliated group, came armed with machetes and guns.
“They came in and beheaded Christians in the church,” said Judith, a local eyewitness, whose name has been changed for her safety. “Those who tried to flee, they caught them and killed them in the compound. All of them were killed with machetes. Most were Catholics.” Her account, shared with Fox News Digital, paints a scene of chaos and raw terror: “On our way we could see people already leaving, carrying their bags, heading for more secure areas. In Komanda there were no activities, and people were standing in groups around the shops and the places that had been burnt. And people were sad. There was sadness everywhere.”
The scale of the massacre is staggering. The United Nations reports at least 49 civilians killed—nine of them children—and many more wounded or missing. The bodies, many mutilated, were gathered and buried in a mass grave dug by earth-moving machines from MONUSCO, the U.N. peacekeeping mission. “The bodies of the victims are still at the scene of the tragedy, and volunteers are preparing how to bury them in a mass grave,” Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator, told the Associated Press. At the funeral mass, Father Aime Lokana Dhegoin presided as families mourned lost children, parents, and friends.
Survivors say the militants struck as worshipers celebrated the church’s Silver Jubilee. “The rebels entered the church and murdered a large number of children, both inside the church building and in the compound,” said Father Marcelo Oliveira, a Comboni missionary. Many who died had already fled violence against Christians elsewhere, only to find death waiting in this supposed sanctuary.
The rebels entered the church and murdered a large number of children
The attackers didn’t stop at the church. They looted homes, shops, even banks. Displaced people camping in the town’s hospital were also targeted. “We don’t even understand why all this is happening,” said a shopkeeper, his business now a charred ruin.
Condemnation of the Congo attack
Condemnation has come from every corner. “The recent increase in attacks on Christians and other religious communities by the ISIS-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces is deeply alarming,” said Vicky Hartzler, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Vivian van de Perre, acting head of MONUSCO, called it “a heinous act of violence, which constitutes serious violations of international humanitarian law.” Pope Leo XIV, in a telegram, implored that “the blood of these martyrs may be a seed of peace, reconciliation, brotherhood and love for all the Congolese people.”
But for the people of Komanda, peace feels impossibly far. “This is a silent slaughter happening, which nobody is discussing,” said Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK and Ireland. “Women and children are being targeted along with men. Nobody is reporting on it. Nobody even seems to be particularly concerned about it.”
The ADF, which began in Uganda and pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2019, continues to sow terror across the region, as reported previously by Metro Voice, exploiting weak borders and local rivalries. “We have seen many peace accords which have not given any result,” Judith said. “The peace accord that is needed is the one with the ADF. For now, they continue attacks on the people.”
As Komanda buries its dead, the world’s eyes, if only briefly, turn to Congo. For those left behind, the fear remains: another attack could come at any time.
–Dwight Widaman
