Pope Leo XIV condemns brutal machete attack that killed 49 Christians during prayer in DR Congo

The Pope, the State Department, the United Nations and a leading Christian group have all condemned a new major attack on Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which the U.N. says left at least 49 dead.

In the latest attack in a tragic long string of mass murders by Islamist terrorists in both Nigeria and the DRC, the U.N. said rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a sanctioned rebel group allied to Islamic State with roots in Uganda, burst into a church in the Eastern town of Komanda and set about hacking Christians who were worshipping inside with machetes and other knives. The congregation was attacked at 1 a.m. last Sunday morning, while they were on a night vigil, reportedly praying for peace.

The rebels also burnt nearby homes. Nine children are said to be among the dead. Several villagers have been abducted.

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "The United States designated the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), also known as ISIS-DRC, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2021. We are concerned by reports of the recent attack on civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo and strongly condemn this cowardly act of violence against Christians in their place of worship."

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Pope Leo XIV also condemned the attack. "May the blood of these martyrs become a seed of peace, reconciliation, fraternity, and love for the Congolese people." A Vatican Cardinal added that the Pope "learned with dismay and deep sorrow of the attack."

The U.N.'s Stablization Mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, expressed "deep outrage at these heinous acts of violence, which constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and infringements on human rights."

"The killings are strategic," Illia Djadi, senior sub-Saharan researcher for Christian charity Open Doors, who support and speak up for Christians persecuted for their faith, stated. He added, "The ADF have a very clear aim: they want to turn a large part of DRC into an Islamic caliphate, like the horrific one instigated in Iraq and Syria in 2014 by Islamic State."

Contacted by Fox News Digital on Tuesday, Djadi said, "The presence of Islamic State groups across the region means that sub-Saharan Africa has become the new epicenter of jihadism." Muslims are in the minority here; it's said that Christians account for between 80-95% of the population.

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70 Christians were reported beheaded, again in a church in the DRC, in February. The killings of Christians are worse in Nigeria, with Pope Leo XIV telling crowds at the Vatican that "some 200 people were murdered, with extraordinary cruelty" on June 13 in Yelewata, in Nigeria's Benue State.

According to Open Doors International's 2025 World Watch List (WWL), of the 4,476 Christians killed worldwide in WWL's latest reporting period, 3,100 of those who died (69%) were in Nigeria. 

Djadi told Fox News Digital that despite President Trump's brokered peace deal in the DRC, Christians in the East of the country are still at risk. "There has been a lot of attention paid to the DRC recently, with Donald Trump spearheading a peace initiative between the DRC and Rwanda, whose rebel fighters the M23 have taken a large proportion of territories in the east of the DRC."

"However," Djadi added, "while government forces are trying to contain the M23 in the urban regions, the rural areas are left undefended. It has left a security vacuum, meaning that the ADF are free to slaughter hundreds of innocent civilians with impunity, with Christians especially at risk.

"It is the primary responsibility of (the) Congolese government to protect the whole nation, regardless of their religious faith or ethnic background. What would happen if the ADF continues its killing unopposed is too awful to contemplate."