Warning: This article contains graphic details that may be disturbing to some readers.
FIRST ON FOX – Digital has obtained exclusive, shocking testimony detailing Sunday’s deadly massacre in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Jihadists, aligned with the Islamic State, killed at least 49 people in a church located in the eastern part of the country.
Among the victims, nine children were beheaded. Several other children were also abducted. The perpetrators belonged to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamist rebel group originating in Uganda.
Digital, in partnership with Open Doors UK, contacted a local church contact in the DRC who visited the site of the attack in Komanda just hours after it occurred. Open Doors is a global Christian organization that advocates for persecuted Christians worldwide.
The church worker gathered information from village survivors, including a shop owner who witnessed the attack and evaded detection despite his shop being burned, to piece together an account of the events.
Judith (name changed for protection) told Digital that signs of trouble were evident even before reaching the village. “We saw people leaving, carrying their belongings towards safer areas.”
“Komanda was deserted, with people gathered in groups near burnt shops, displaying sadness.”
Digital learned that worshippers from neighboring villages had gathered to celebrate the church’s Silver Jubilee and to pray for peace and security.
“Attackers entered,” she recounted, “and beheaded Christians inside the church.” The jihadists “killed people in the church hall and hunted down those who tried to escape, killing them within the compound and on the road. They were all killed with machetes. Most of the Christian victims were Catholics.”
Another shopkeeper, whose store was also destroyed by fire, expressed to Judith their confusion about the motive behind the violence: “we don’t even understand why all this is happening.”
The U.N.’s MONUSCO deployed heavy machinery to dig a large mass grave in the village to bury the dead in simple coffins. Some of the victims had sought refuge in Komanda after previous attacks in other areas.
Judith described Monday’s funeral as a scene of intense grief: “People were weeping for their kidnapped children and loved ones who had been killed. There was sadness upon sadness everywhere. Everything they had is lost, they have nothing now.”
Sen. Jim Risch, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, condemned the attack, stating, “This deadly escalation in their targeting of Christians makes the peace process, championed by @POTUS and @SecRubio even more urgent. We must focus all energies on eradicating these ISIS terrorists and forging a new regional economic path.”
Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK and Ireland, described the situation to Digital as “a crisis of biblical proportions,” adding, “This is a silent slaughter happening, which nobody is discussing… Nobody is reporting on it. Nobody even seems to be particularly concerned about it.”
Blythe said the Islamists are attempting to impose strict Islamic laws in the DRC, a country with a predominantly Christian population (80-95%).
“Christians are afraid to sleep in their homes, preferring the danger of the jungle over being vulnerable to attack. In Sub-Saharan Africa, we estimate that over 16 million Christians have been displaced by violence. The church is fleeing, with Christians taking their children and running for their lives, often at night.”
Jo Newhouse, a Sub-Sahara specialist for Open Doors, emphasized to Digital that this attack is not isolated, reporting that over 80 local villagers, mainly Christians, have been killed in similar attacks in July alone. “We need the U.S. to pay attention about what is happening and use your influence for the church here. Do not be blind to what is happening here. Pay attention.”
Judith is aware of President Trump’s brokered peace deal between the , but it has not yet improved the situation in eastern Congo. “We have seen many peace accords which have not given any result,” she said. “The peace accord that is needed is the one with the ADF. For now, they continue attacks on the people.”
Villagers witnessed the Islamist attackers retreat a short distance away, but no arrests have been made, according to a local source. Another attack is possible at any moment.
Judith appealed, “If the Trump administration can put pressure on governments like Uganda and Rwanda to withdraw their forces here, Congo would be fine.”