A Lendu militiaman arrives to the U.N. disarmament post of Yambi in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo to give up his weapon in 2005. Bunia is 75 miles east of Komada, where Islamic State-backed rebels attacked a church in Momanda. File Pohot by Riccy Gares/EPA
Islamic-backed rebels killed at least 43 people in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, including raiding a Catholic Church, early Sunday, a United Nations-backed radio station reported.
The Allied Democratic Forces emerged in Uganda in the 1990s against the marginalization of Muslims but rebels have gone across the border into DR Congo.
About 20 people were stabbed to death during the church’s night vigil in the town of Komanda, Radio Okapi reported.
Other bodies were found in burned-out houses and businesses near the church. One man’s charred body was found in a truck set on fire.
The DRC Army confirmed the incident but reported 10 deaths.
An alarm sounded at 2 a.m. Sunday of smoke from burning houses.
The attackers had already left the scene when military authorities arrived.
All activities in the city were suspended.
The attack was about 7.5 miles from the center of Komanda.
Security forces, including the DR Congo Armed Forces, Ugandan military and local police, are searching for the attackers.
The area had been relatively peaceful with residents returning to the city.
Komanda is in DR Congo’s Ituri province, which is mineral rich.
The United States is seeking to get access to those critical minerals, which are used to manufacture high-tech devices and weapons.
On June 27, DR Congo and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in Washington, D.C., after 30 years of conflict between the two nations.
Then on July 19, DR Congo and M23 rebels backed by Rwanda signed a declaration of peace after nearly four years of fighting. The rebels were not involved in the agreement in Washington but the declaration must follow the Washington Accord brokered by the United States.
Around 7 million people have been displaced in Congo, which has a population of 106 million. Rwanda also borders Uganda to the south.
