Latest news with #ChristopheMunyanderu
TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Islamic State-backed rebels kill 38 in attack on east DRC church
Islamic State-backed rebels killed 38 people on Sunday in an attack on a church in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), city officials said. The assault in Komanda, a city in the northeastern DRC, is believed to have been carried out by ADF rebels wielding guns and machetes, officials told Reuters. Jean Kato, an official in the city administration, said worshippers were taking part in a night mass when the rebels stormed the church in the early hours of Sunday morning. Thirty-eight people were dead, 15 injured and several others were still missing, officials said. Christophe Munyanderu, a human rights activist present at the scene in Komanda, said shots were heard overnight but people at first thought it was thieves. "The rebels mainly attacked Christians who were spending the night in the Catholic church," said Munyanderu. "Unfortunately these people were killed with machetes or bullets." The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DR Congo has condemned a recent resurgence in violence in the province where this attack happened.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
35 killed in rebel attack in northeast DR Congo
BUNIA: At least 35 people were killed Sunday in an attack by Allied Democratic Forces rebels in northeastern DR Congo, ending a months-long period of regional calm, local sources said. The rebels, originally formed from former Ugandan fighters and which pledged allegiance to Daesh in 2019, raided a Catholic church in the town of Komanda where worshippers were gathered for prayer, residents said. 'We heard gunfire near the parish church ... so far we have seen 35 bodies,' Dieudonne Katanabo, an Umoja neighborhood elder, said. 'We have at least 31 dead members of the Eucharistic Crusade movement, with six seriously injured ... some young people were kidnapped, we have no news of them,' Father Aime Lokana Dhego, parish priest of the Blessed Anuarite parish of Komanda, said. The priest added that seven other bodies had been discovered in the town. Christophe Munyanderu, coordinator of the local NGO Convention for the Respect of Human Rights, gave a provisional death toll of 38. Lt. Jules Ngongo, army spokesman in Ituri, confirmed the attack, stating that 'the enemy is believed to have been identified among ADF' rebels. The bloodshed comes after months of calm in the region of Ituri, bordering Uganda. The last major attack by the ADF was in February, leaving 23 dead in Mambasa territory. The town of Komanda in Irumu territory is a commercial hub linking three other provinces — Tshopo, North Kivu, and Maniema. The ADF, originally Ugandan rebels, has killed thousands of civilians and ramped up looting and killing in northeastern DRC despite the deployment both of the Ugandan army alongside Congolese armed forces in the area. At the end of 2021, Kampala and Kinshasa launched a joint military operation against the ADF, which has so far been unable to dislodge the group.
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
IS-backed rebels kill 38 in Congo church attack
Islamic State-backed rebels have killed 38 people in an attack on a church in eastern Congo, city officials say. The assault in Komanda, a city in the northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, on Sunday is believed to have been carried out by Allied Democratic Forces rebels, wielding guns and machetes, officials told Reuters. Jean Kato, an official in the city administration, said worshippers were taking part in a night mass when the rebels stormed the church in the early hours of Sunday morning. Thirty-eight people were dead, 15 injured and several others were still missing, officials said. Christophe Munyanderu, a human rights activist present at the scene in Komanda, said shots were heard overnight but people at first thought it was thieves. "The rebels mainly attacked Christians who were spending the night in the Catholic church," Munyanderu said. "Unfortunately, these people were killed with machetes or bullets." The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DR Congo has condemned a recent resurgence in violence in the province where this attack happened. Islamic State-backed rebels have killed 38 people in an attack on a church in eastern Congo, city officials say. The assault in Komanda, a city in the northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, on Sunday is believed to have been carried out by Allied Democratic Forces rebels, wielding guns and machetes, officials told Reuters. Jean Kato, an official in the city administration, said worshippers were taking part in a night mass when the rebels stormed the church in the early hours of Sunday morning. Thirty-eight people were dead, 15 injured and several others were still missing, officials said. Christophe Munyanderu, a human rights activist present at the scene in Komanda, said shots were heard overnight but people at first thought it was thieves. "The rebels mainly attacked Christians who were spending the night in the Catholic church," Munyanderu said. "Unfortunately, these people were killed with machetes or bullets." The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DR Congo has condemned a recent resurgence in violence in the province where this attack happened. Islamic State-backed rebels have killed 38 people in an attack on a church in eastern Congo, city officials say. The assault in Komanda, a city in the northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, on Sunday is believed to have been carried out by Allied Democratic Forces rebels, wielding guns and machetes, officials told Reuters. Jean Kato, an official in the city administration, said worshippers were taking part in a night mass when the rebels stormed the church in the early hours of Sunday morning. Thirty-eight people were dead, 15 injured and several others were still missing, officials said. Christophe Munyanderu, a human rights activist present at the scene in Komanda, said shots were heard overnight but people at first thought it was thieves. "The rebels mainly attacked Christians who were spending the night in the Catholic church," Munyanderu said. "Unfortunately, these people were killed with machetes or bullets." The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DR Congo has condemned a recent resurgence in violence in the province where this attack happened. Islamic State-backed rebels have killed 38 people in an attack on a church in eastern Congo, city officials say. The assault in Komanda, a city in the northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, on Sunday is believed to have been carried out by Allied Democratic Forces rebels, wielding guns and machetes, officials told Reuters. Jean Kato, an official in the city administration, said worshippers were taking part in a night mass when the rebels stormed the church in the early hours of Sunday morning. Thirty-eight people were dead, 15 injured and several others were still missing, officials said. Christophe Munyanderu, a human rights activist present at the scene in Komanda, said shots were heard overnight but people at first thought it was thieves. "The rebels mainly attacked Christians who were spending the night in the Catholic church," Munyanderu said. "Unfortunately, these people were killed with machetes or bullets." The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DR Congo has condemned a recent resurgence in violence in the province where this attack happened.
Sky News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Democratic Republic of Congo: At least 34 people killed after Islamic State-backed rebels attack Catholic church
Islamic State-backed rebels killed at least 34 people in an attack at a Catholic church in eastern Congo on Sunday, according to officials. A civil society leader in Komanda, in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, told the AP news agency that the attack was believed to have been carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan Islamist rebel group. Dieudonne Duranthabo, civil society coordinator, said: "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 that we are preparing in a compound of the Catholic church." He condemned the attack "in a town where all the security officials are present" before adding: "We demand military intervention as soon as possible, since we are told the enemy is still near our town." Other city officials told the Reuters news agency that 38 people were killed, 15 injured, and several others were still missing. Christophe Munyanderu, a human rights activist present at the scene in Komanda, said shots were heard overnight, but people at first thought it was thieves. "The rebels mainly attacked Christians who were spending the night in the Catholic church," he said. "Unfortunately, these people were killed with machetes or bullets." The ADF was formed by disparate small groups in Uganda in the late 1990s following alleged discontent with former president Yoweri Museveni. In 2002, following military assaults by Ugandan forces, the group moved its activities to the neighbouring DRC, and has since been responsible for the killings of thousands of civilians. According to a 2019 report on terrorism from the US Department of State, the ADF established ties with Islamic State in late 2018 It comes after at least five other people were killed in an attack on the nearby village of Machongani, where a search is ongoing. "They took several people into the bush," Lossa Dhekana, a civil society leader in Ituri province, told the AP, "we do not know their destination or their number".
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
At least 35 killed in rebel attack in northeast DR Congo
At least 35 people were killed Sunday in an attack by Allied Democratic Forces rebels in northeastern DR Congo, ending a months-long period of regional calm, local sources told AFP. The ADF, originally formed from former Ugandan rebels and which pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2019, raided a Catholic church in the town of Komanda where worshippers were gathered for prayer, residents told AFP by telephone from Bunia, capital of Ituri province. 'Last night around 9 pm (1900 GMT), we heard gunfire near the parish church... so far we have seen 35 bodies,' Dieudonne Katanabo, an Umoja neighbourhood elder, told AFP. 'We have at least 31 dead members of the Eucharistic Crusade movement, with six seriously injured... some young people were kidnapped, we have no news of them,' Father Aime Lokana Dhego, parish priest of the Blessed Anuarite parish of Komanda, told AFP. The priest added that seven other bodies had been discovered in the town. Likewise attributing the attack to 'ADF rebels,' Christophe Munyanderu, coordinator of the local NGO Convention for the Respect of Human Rights, gave a provisional death toll of 38. Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, army spokesman in Ituri, did not comment on the toll but confirmed the attack to AFP, stating that 'the enemy is believed to have been identified among ADF' rebels. The bloodshed comes after months of calm in the region of Ituri, bordering Uganda. The last major attack by the ADF was in February, leaving 23 dead in Mambasa territory. The town of Komanda in Irumu territory is a commercial hub linking three other provinces -- Tshopo, North Kivu, and Maniema. The ADF, originally Ugandan rebels who are predominantly Muslim, has killed thousands of civilians and ramped up looting and killing in northeastern DRC despite the deployment both of the Ugandan army alongside Congolese armed forces in the area. At the end of 2021, Kampala and Kinshasa launched a joint military operation against the ADF, dubbed 'Shujaa,' which has so far been unable to dislodge the group.
