According to Reuters’ reports, several houses were set on fire and then people fleeing the houses were opened fire on, and some were attacked with machetes.

The next morning, locals flooded the streets, protesting against the inadequate security in the area. Kathembo Ngeleza, one of the protesters, reported that they alone had seen at least ten bodies being taken to the morgue in vans.

“We don’t know what our authorities are doing. The idea is to protect the inhabitants, but here we are again … We are really angry,” said Ngeleza.

For years, armed militias have terrorised the predominantly Christian Congo. The largest such terrorist organisation is the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which is also linked to the Islamic State. Their main plan is to establish an Islamic caliphate in Central Africa.

Since 2017, more than 1200 people have been killed by the terrorist group in the city of Beni alone.

Series of explosions

On 27 June, also the ADF bombed the Emmanuel-Butsili parish in Beni. The parish priest said the explosion occurred just before the start of Sunday mass.

“The explosion took place around 6 a.m. when Holy Mass had not yet started. Two mothers were seriously injured and have been rushed to the hospital,” said Isidore Kambale Masingo the rector of the parish.

According to reports, the homemade bomb was placed in the front row where the choir used to pack its instruments. By targeting the Holy Mass, the terrorists presumably intended to blow up a large crowd.

After the church explosion, a suicide bomber detonated outside a bar. A day earlier, on the 26th, a petrol station was blown up on the outskirts of the city.

New hope

Hungary has responded to the crisis caused by the Covid-19 outbreak and the parallel spread of hunger by providing food aid through the Hungary Helps Programme.

The Centre Ophtalmologique St Raphaël eye clinic in Mbuji-Mayi, led by Hungarian ophthalmologist Dr Richard Hardi, provides eye care to more than 10,000 patients a year in a region where there is no access to specialist eye care. Specialised retinal surgery is performed here alone in the country.

The Hungary Helps Programme has also supported the infrastructure development of the College Othniel Vocational School run by the Foundation for Africa, as well as the construction of workshops and classrooms, which have enabled vocational training activities to start in the slums of Kinshasa, the capital city of more than 14 million inhabitants.

(Source: Vasarnap.hu)

Source of photo: Unsplash