GOMA: At least 21 people were killed on Sunday in an attack on a Catholic church in eastern Congo by Islamic State-backed rebels, according to a civil society leader.
The military confirmed at least 10 fatalities, while local media reports put the death toll at more than 40.
The attack is believed to have been carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) armed with machetes, who stormed the church premises in Ituri province’s Komanda town at around 1 a.m. Several houses and shops were also burnt.
“More than 21 people were shot dead inside and outside and we have recorded at least three charred bodies and several houses burned. But the search is continuing,” Dieudonne Duranthabo, civil society coordinator in Komanda, told The Associated Press.
Lt. Jules Ngongo, a Congolese army spokesperson in Ituri province, confirmed 10 killed in the attack.
Video footage from the scene shared online appeared to show burning structures and bodies on the floor of the church. Those who were able to identify some of the victims wailed while others stood in shock.
A UN-backed radio station said 43 people were killed, citing security sources. It said the attackers came from a stronghold around 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the center of Komanda and fled before security forces could arrive.
Eastern Congo has suffered deadly attacks in recent years by armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed rebels. The ADF, which has ties to the Islamic State, operates in the borderland between Uganda and Congo and often targets civilians. The group killed dozens of people in Ituri earlier this month in what a United Nations spokesperson described as a bloodbath.
Duranthabo condemned the attack “in a town where all the security officials are present.” He added: “We demand military intervention as soon as possible, since we are told the enemy is still near our town.”
The ADF was formed by disparate small groups in Uganda in the late 1990s following alleged discontent with President Yoweri Museveni.
In 2002, following military assaults by Ugandan forces, the group moved its activities to neighboring Congo and has since been responsible for the killings of thousands of civilians. In 2019, it pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), which has long struggled against the rebel group, has been facing attacks since the renewed hostilities between the Rwanda-backed M23.
At least 21 killed in attack on east Congo church by Islamic State-backed rebels, civil leader says
https://arab.news/8ut5x
At least 21 killed in attack on east Congo church by Islamic State-backed rebels, civil leader says
- Video footage from the scene shared online appeared to show burning structures and bodies on the floor of the church
- The attack is believed to have been carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) armed with machetes, who stormed the church premises in Ituri province’s Komanda town
Pakistan PM meets IAEA chief in Vienna, witnesses nuclear medicine cooperation deal signing
- INMOL Lahore designated as IAEA Collaborating Center to expand cancer treatment cooperation
- Sharif calls sustainable and inclusive development the only path to peace amid global ‘polycrisis’
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in Vienna on Tuesday and witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement designating Pakistan’s Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology (INMOL), Lahore, as an IAEA Collaborating Center.
The meeting took place at the Vienna International Center, home to several UN agencies. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Grossi signed the Collaborating Center Agreement on behalf of Pakistan and the IAEA, respectively. The IAEA chief presented a plaque formally designating INMOL as a Collaborating Center, in a ceremony witnessed by Sharif.
“The Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for IAEA’s role in the promotion of responsible use of nuclear technology in areas such as cancer diagnosis and treatment, agriculture, nuclear power generation and industrial applications,” said a statement circulated by Sharif’s office in Islamabad.
“He praised the strong partnership between Pakistan and the IAEA, while observing that Pakistan was not only a beneficiary of the IAEA’s Technical Cooperation Programme but was also contributing to the work of the IAEA through the provision of its experts and conducting international trainings for IAEA Member States,” it added.
The statement said Grossi acknowledged Pakistan’s experience and expertise in the peaceful uses of nuclear technology and commended the quality of its engineers, scientists and technicians.
He maintained Pakistan was well placed to assist other IAEA member states in expanding peaceful nuclear applications and expressed interest in Pakistan’s participation at the Nuclear Energy Summit scheduled in France in March 2026.
The IAEA chief visited Pakistan last year to review cooperation on the peaceful uses of nuclear technology, including cancer diagnosis and treatment, as well as applications in energy and agriculture.
His engagements included visits to Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission cancer hospitals, inauguration of advanced treatment facilities and discussions with Sharif on expanding collaboration under the IAEA’s “Rays of Hope” initiative aimed at improving radiotherapy access in developing countries.
’POLYCRISIS’
Sharif also addressed a special event at the United Nations Office in Vienna, calling for sustainable and inclusive development to be treated as the world’s foremost conflict-prevention strategy, warning that overlapping geopolitical tensions, climate stress and technological disruption are converging into a global “polycrisis.”
“Our world stands at crossroads,” Sharif said. “We face intertwined crises. The defining danger of our time is not any single threat, rather it’s the combination of many.”
“Geopolitical hostility, climate stress, and technological disruption are all converging into a single destabilizing force,” he added. “The planet is facing a moment of polycrisis.”
Sharif argued that sustainable and inclusive development was the most effective long-term strategy to prevent conflict, stressing that developing nations bore the heaviest burden of climate change despite contributing the least to global emissions.
“Pakistan’s own experience is illustrative,” he said. “We stand at the front lines of the climate crisis, not through any fault of ours, but as one of its most disproportionate victims.”
He said Pakistan, which contributes less than one percent of global emissions, continues to face severe climate impacts, including devastating floods in recent years that destroyed homes, farmland and infrastructure.
Sharif also called for strengthening multilateral institutions, including the United Nations system, to better address emerging global challenges and ensure that innovation and new technologies benefit all countries rather than deepen existing divides.
