AFRICA/DR CONGO - Massacres and uprisings in the Northeast: appeal of the Bishop of Butembo-Beni

Wednesday, 26 September 2018 violence   justice   peace   political islam  

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Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - In a raid of alleged Ugandan rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) against the Congolese city of Beni and in the municipality of Rwenzori and Beu, northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), at least 14 civilians and 4 soldiers have been killed, while hundreds of others have been injured. According to information sent to Fides, the rebels reached the town, on the border with Uganda and close to the town of Beni, north Kivu, on the night of Saturday 22 September.
Mgr. Sikuli Paluku Melchisedech, Bishop of the diocese of Butembo-Beni, urged government forces and the Mission de l'Organisation des Nations unies pour la stabilisation en République démocratique du Congo (MONUSCO), to review their strategy against the ADF in Beni: "I especially express my condolences to the families affected who unexpectedly lost their loved ones in this unbearable tragedy and, in faith in Jesus, who is the resurrection and life, I recommend the souls of these innocents to the mercy of God", he wrote in the message sent to Fides.
The Bishop called on government authorities "to better fulfill their responsibilities to protect the population, defend the territory and safeguard national sovereignty".
It is estimated that, since 2014, the group is responsible for the death of over 1,500 people and 800 abductions. The AFD having been sowing terror in a region with a Christian majority, where the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) have been working for years, committed to promoting human dignity and evangelical apostolate among Muslims. Beni is also at the center of the current Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo, which has already killed 99 people and left almost 200 children orphaned. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 26/9/2018)


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