A Catholic bishop has spoken out against the safety services within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), condemning them for his or her “slow response” to an attack by Islamist militants that resulted within the death of 37 children.
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) consider themselves to be the local branch of Islamic state within the region. On 27 July they attacked a vigil on the parish hall of Blessed Marie-Clémentine Anuarite Nengapeta Catholic Church in Komanda, Ituri.
The church was stuffed with children who were celebrating the twenty fifth anniversary of the Eucharistic Crusades movement. While 4 escaped unhurt and 6 were wounded, the overwhelming majority were killed with guns and machetes.
Bishop Dieudonné Uringi of Bunia told the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, “The police and the military weren’t far-off, but they didn’t act in time. They must have intervened more quickly to guard the population.”
He added, “Many people have been traumatised. When the adults discovered, they got here immediately to see what had happened.”
In his view, local Christians and Muslims live side by side without tensions. It is armed outsiders who’re bringing trouble to the world.
“There is not any conflict between communities. The problem is the rebels from Uganda who’ve been operating on this area for years,” he told ACN.
For much of this yr violence within the DRC has been between government forces and M23, a rebel group believed to be operating as a proxy for neighbouring Rwanda. Conflict experts have warned that the fighting between the federal government and M23 has allowed other militia groups, especially the ADF to act with greater impunity.
Earlier this yr, over 80 people were found beheaded inside a church.
Bishop Uringi said that within the DRC there was little conflict between Christians and Muslims. He said that the ADF are rebels from Uganda.
The bishop’s criticisms echo those made by churchmen in Nigeria. Several Nigerian regions have been stricken by Islamist and Fulani violence targeting Christian villages.
There too the safety services have been condemned for his or her inaction, sometimes failing to forestall attacks even when advance warning is given.
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