Kinshasa, 21 January, 2023 / 9:51 pm (ACI Africa).
Terrorists operating in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are attacking wealthy homes and forcing inhabitants to flee, a Catholic Missionary Priest in the Central African country has said.
In a Friday, report published January 20, Fr. Marcelo Fonseca Oliveira says terrorists and rebels operating in North Kivu have “sown terror among the population who constantly have to flee their villages, get in the middle of the forest and stay hidden and wait for [the rebels] to be able to leave the villages.”
“The method is to make people flee and thus take part of the lands where there is immense wealth,” Fr. Oliveira has been quoted as telling Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Portugal.
Referencing the January 15 attack on the Church of Christ Congo, (ECC-CEPAC), the member of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ) said, “The rebels are trying to eliminate the population by attacking areas … where there are people so that these people flee, leaving their lands, leaving their homes.”
The ECC-CEPAC in the Eastern Congolese city of Kasindi, on the border with Uganda, was reportedly attacked when an explosive device was detonated at the church premise during a service leaving at least 17 people dead and 39 others injured.
