Hardships Christians are Facing in The DRC
This October has been another grisly month in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. In the latest attack on a hospital in Maboya, Northern Kivu province, Dr. Marie Sylvie Kavuke Vakatsuraki (37), sister of the Congregation de Petite Soeur de la Presentation de Notre Dame, was killed.
In the early morning of Thursday, October 20th, armed men from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) stormed the Reference Health Centre in Maboya.
Sister Kahambu of the same congregation shared details of the attack:
“They launched a rocket at the doors but none of them opened. They said… the people here must be praying very hard. A few minutes later, Sister Marie Sylvie who was on the night shift in the hospital and who had to operate on a pregnant woman, called and informed us that they were being attacked, and we should save who we can. We fled into the bush and upon return, discovered this disaster. Children were the first who alerted those at the hospital, calling on them to flee and when the sister started praying the Holy Mary, she received a bullet in her head… her body was later consumed in the flames that devoured the hospital following the bombs thrown inside.”
Besides Sister Marie Sylvie, one patient in the hospital was shot and killed as he tried to escape, and at least another eight people were killed in Maboya town: two women, several shop keepers and one man killed in his home and his children were abducted, along with that a 70-year-old watchman of a health centre was also killed. The ADF caused further damage to two health facilities (Maboya reference hospital and Tinge health centre), two pharmacies and several shops were looted and burnt and several people are reported missing following the attack.
A believer at the Tinge health centre shared, “the terrorists arrived and started asking me where the nurses were. I told them I do not know. They asked for my phone, I told them I didn’t have one. They said since I have nothing, they will take my caretaker away, and they did. When they got to another ward, they left her there, because she was aged, but they took along the young female caretakers. I cannot estimate how many. Besides the young girls, they also took all the medicines they could find at the hospital”.
One survivor of the Maboya attack, Christine*, thanks God for saving her life. “I fled to the bush and spent two days there. I don’t know how I managed to move out of the hospital with my child, I was just waking up from anesthesia. Glory be to God for the life He has granted me, I sincerely thank all the Christians worldwide who are praying for us.”
A local church leader Abbe, from one of the parishes in Maboya, condemned the attack. “This attack has brought us to zero, and as they want the death of Christians, they have looted and burnt shops and the health centre,” he lamented.
Maboya is a majority-Christian village located about 30km from Beni, in the North Kivu province. Its health centre served thousands of people in Maboya and the surrounding area. Without these vital and life-saving centres, Christians are vulnerable and will have to travel on unsafe roads to get medical treatment.
“Oh, how we are mourning. We ask Christians worldwide to please come to our rescue because we don’t know when we can resume work”, cried another Christian in the area.
Attacks earlier in October
In October alone, more than 10 reported attacks were attributed to the ADF in the restive North Kivu and Ituri provinces. Attacks are usually concentrated around the Beni territory, but recently they have spread in and around Butembo, in the Lubero territory. This has heightened fears that the ADF is expanding into otherwise calm areas.
Here is a list of some of the attacks:
October 3rd – 14 Christian children between the ages of 10 and 19 sustained serious injuries after a bomb exploded in a cinema in the Vusengera neighbourhood, Kimemi commune in Butembo. Sources hinted that a man believed to be of the ADF entered the cinema hall carrying a bag, and the explosion occurred soon afterwards at about 6:40 pm. According to a local online site, the Islamic State Central Africa has claimed this attack in Butembo.
“From what they posted, we now understand that those terrorists come to persecute Christians. They must know that God never fails. Despite the explosives, we will continue to pray and remain Christians and one day, the situation will change”, said Jospin, a Butembo inhabitant.
October 4th – Suspected ADF militants attacked the village of Vido, in the Banande Kainama group, Beni territory of the North Kivu province. They killed 11 Christians, including Sobo Mungeke, father of 7 and an evangelist with the Anglican church. , alongside 10 others, were brutally killed with machetes and axes. Those who tried to flee were shot. According to Zawadi Kasumba, leader of the local civil society organization, 20 houses were also set ablaze, and an undisclosed number of people were kidnapped. Many fled Vido and the Banande Kainama group to safer areas within the territory.
Paluku Tsongo Jean, Archdeacon of the Anglican Parish in Kitsimba explains that since the attack, Vido has been emptied of its population, and parish activities have been deserted and cancelled because of the attack. “Christians live in fear and don’t know what to do. This is the second time they are aiming at our parish. The first time, they killed our pastor in Boga, in the Irumu territory and now they have killed our evangelist. Churches are closed,” he shared. “We pray God to have mercy on us and forgive us and grant us peace. We know He is able to do it because His Word tells us that nothing is impossible unto Him,” Archdeacon Paluku concluded.
October 19th – In the Beni-Mbau district, a Christian (54) stepped on a mine as he was leaving his hideout, fleeing the ADF attack on the village. The IED exploded, leaving him with severe injuries. He was transported to Eringeti for medical attention, his church leader confirmed.
October 19th – Three Christians were killed in Katabei village, Irumu territory, Ituri province. Sources recount that vehicles were ambushed, three persons were shot dead, and a vehicle was burnt. “Two of the victims are Catholic Christians and one is of the CECA20 church”, said Pastor Kowa of the CBCA church Komanda.
October 21st – The district office of the Bulengera commune in Butembo was once again targeted, this time. One person was killed in a gunfire exchange. Rev. Mathe Saa of the CBZE church notes that the Bulengera commune appears to be the latest target of the ADF group.
October 21st – Another ADF attack was reported in Wasini village in the Irumu territory of the Ituri province. A local civil society organization reported five persons, including a woman, all from Ndalya village, were killed during the attack. Several others were reported missing following the incursion. A man sustained injuries on his right thigh after being injured by a local bomb planted by the terrorists.
October 22nd – ADF attacked the village of Some, situated some 25km from Mambasa centre in Ituri province. A taximan was killed and several others were abducted during the ambush. At least five vehicles transporting fuel were set on fire alongside six houses.
Other ADF-led attacks have been reported in Kamungu were seven were killed; Kainama where more than 20 were killed. Also, four were killed in Eringeti, four in Hurara and one in Mutido, all in the Beni territory of the North Kivu province.
A human rights coordinator in the Mambasa territory shared that this is the second time the locality was attacked in October. This month alone, at least 65 people were killed by the ADF in verified attacks. Other attacks often go unreported as information is often scarce or due to the remote nature of some villages.
These recurrent attacks have led to the vast displacement of people from one locality to the other, and usually, multiple displacements. Reliefweb reports that over 1.6 million persons are internally displaced in the North Kivu province alone, and over 5 million in the entire country. IDPs live in deplorable conditions, lacking basic necessities like food, clothing and shelter.
“The situation is serious… so we have to sound the alarm to all churches around the world to say that the eastern part of the DRC and particularly the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu are on fire and what is happening in this area is very serious right now. Every new day there is new information. So, we appeal to everyone to say, Lord, cast an eye of mercy on these two provinces where Christians suffer, but also the whole population is suffering… and on all these people who are scattered, who no longer know how to live…,” said Rev. Agupio Mani, a senior church leader in the Ituri province.
Please Pray
- Pray that the government will find lasting solutions to the deepening security crisis
- Pray that pastors will receive courage to remain, wisdom in preparing the church for persecution, and compassion when ministering to the traumatized and displaced
