a bomb explodes in a Pentecostal church in North Kivu

An “improvised explosive device” targeted a Pentecostal church in Kasindi, North Kivu, on Sunday January 15. This region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), bordering Uganda, has been plagued by deadly violence from various armed groups for years. The Congolese army denounces a “purely terrorist act” perpetrated by “ADF terrorists”, Ugandan rebels affiliated with the Islamic State.

“The security services have already taken control of the place and the wounded have been evacuated to health facilities” in the region, the army added in a press release.

#RDC The Government strongly condemns the bomb attack visibly perpetrated by ADF terrorists, this Sunday 15/01/2023, against citizens in full worship in the parish of the 8th Community of Pentecostal Churches of Congo in the city of Kasindi in the North -Kivu

— Ministry of Communication and Media/DRC (@Com_mediasRDC) January 15, 2023

Armed conflict

On social networks, several videos show the interior of the building ravaged by the explosion, during the celebration of baptisms. The Ministry of Communication reported dead and injured, but their number was not immediately known. Some local media mention the death of at least 17 people. This drama could thus mark the trip of Pope Francis who will visit the capital Kinshasa in two weeks, on January 31.

More than 120 armed groups are present in the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, many of which are the legacy of regional wars that erupted at the turn of the century. Considered the deadliest, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which the Islamic State group presents as its branch in Central Africa, are active in the North Kivu region where the attack took place.

They are accused of having massacred thousands of civilians in the DRC and committed attacks in Uganda. The United States has placed them in 2021 on its list of terrorist organizations. Other groups are also active and seek to control territories for ethnic reasons and/or to extract rich resources from the soil, often encouraged and financed by neighboring countries. In North Kivu, Rwanda is accused by Kinshasa and Western countries of supporting the Tutsi rebellion of the M23, which has seized a large portion of territory north of Goma in recent months.

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