Pope Leo on ADF massacres in DR Congo: ‘May martyrs’ blood be seed of peace

Pope Leo XIV has expressed sorrow following the massacre of 43 civilians, many of whom were attending a church service in DR Congo’s Ituri Province on Sunday, July 27.

Perpetrated by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF-NALU), an Islamic State-linked terrorist armed group that operates in DR Congo, the attack took place at a Catholic church in Komanda, Irumu territory, Ituri Province.

At least 38 people, including women and children, were confirmed dead in the church, while another five were killed in a nearby village.

In a statement via Vatican News, the Pope wrote:

“May the blood of these martyrs become a seed of peace, reconciliation, fraternity, and love for the Congolese people.”

In a telegram addressed to Archbishop Mugalu, President of the Congolese Bishops’ Conference on the Pope's behalf, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican's Secretary of State, said:

“His Holiness Pope Leo XIV learned with dismay and deep sorrow of the attack perpetrated against the Parish of Blessed Anuarite in Komanda, which caused the death of several faithful gathered for worship.”

He added that the tragedy “calls us even more urgently to work for the integral human development of the martyred population of that region.”

The ADF is a Ugandan Islamist rebel group based in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is considered a terrorist organisation by the Ugandan government and the United States.

Since the late 1990s, the ADF has operated in the Congo's North Kivu province near the border with Uganda. It has been carrying out attacks at various times against civilians both on Ugandan and Congolese soil.

Among some of its most recent attacks, in mid-April, between 10 and 15 civilians were killed in DR Congo’s Beni region, while in October last year, at least 20 civilians were killed in the same area, again attributed to the ADF.