Many of the bodies had been decapitated. The victims belonged to Christian communities within the Babila-Bakaiku area, including Kotanarespe, Nakota, Musangwa, and Akwekwe. 

According to Léon Siviwe, chief of Beni-Mbau the attack had been premeditated, planned out during the course of a week: “These are our brothers, sisters, daughters, and sons who, in the end, have lost their lives because of the ADF, who kill while speaking the Arabic language. I remember the day when my neighbour was taken and, in the end, he was found dead.”

Local survivors recall the terror and the emotional turmoil the attack had on them: “The recent killings have shattered our community. We are left with empty chairs at our tables and memories that haunt us at night. Mourning is a constant presence in our lives, and the trauma we experience is something that will be passed down to our children. They should be playing and laughing, but instead, they carry the weight of fear and loss.”

The Anglican Bishop of Beni condemned the violence and expressed his sorrow over the constant threats Christians have to face: “Living in fear is exhausting. We try to maintain some semblance of normalcy, but every loud noise sends us into panic mode. The laughter of children has been replaced by silence or whispers about who might be next. Our dreams have turned into nightmares, and we often find ourselves looking over our shoulders. These atrocities create a pervasive anxiety and trauma experienced by those in conflict zones, particularly in regions like eastern Congo, where attacks by armed groups such as the ADF have become tragically commonplace that defiles God’s purpose of creating man.”

The ADF has violently targeted Christian communities, hospitals and churches in DRC to disrupt peace and stability since U.N. peacekeepers withdrew in March this year. 

Source: https://www.persecution.org/