Rome. “More than sixty Christians were killed, including an army official, in an attack by Caliphate soldiers in eastern Congo.” Thus, on Telegram, a message gave an account of yet another massacre of Christians in the African country. Since the beginning of June, as reported by Agence France Presse, there have been one hundred and fifty deaths. On June 7, in the region around the city of Beni, the militiamen killed 41 people, some of whom were found “tied” and “beheaded”. “They shot at the population and the bodies started arriving at the hospital,” said a witness. In the first ten days of the month, the Islamic State claimed fifteen attacks on villages and along roads in the area, estimating the total victims at 125. The numbers fluctuate, the sources do not agree: some say just over one hundred, others almost one hundred and fifty. Details in a context that becomes more complicated every day. The Congolese branch of the Caliphate is represented by the ADF, the Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel coalition made up mostly of Ugandan Muslim militiamen, which has been raging in the eastern part of the country for three decades. For years the regular forces (Congolese and Ugandan) have been conducting joint operations against the ADF in North Kivu and in the province of Ituri, without managing to do much to eradicate the jihadist group: paradoxically, the result of the military offensive was that to progressively move the area in which jihadists launch attacks against civilians further and further west. It is estimated that the ADF murdered 849 people in 2020 alone (men, women and even children) in the territories where it rages. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (Acled) certifies more than a thousand deaths in 2023. The picture is made even more complex by the fact that – as African News reports – there are “more than one hundred and twenty terrorist groups in the region, fighting for power , land and mineral resources”. Groups taking advantage of the chaos to expand their influence on an already unstable region. Christians are especially targeted (represent 95 percent of the Congolese population)as Open Doors’ World Watch List highlights.
Rome. “More than sixty Christians were killed, including an army official, in an attack by Caliphate soldiers in eastern Congo.” Thus, on Telegram, a message gave an account of yet another massacre of Christians in the African country. Since the beginning of June, as reported by Agence France Presse, there have been one hundred and fifty deaths. On June 7, in the region around the city of Beni, the militiamen killed 41 people, some of whom were found “tied” and “beheaded”. “They shot at the population and the bodies started arriving at the hospital,” said a witness. In the first ten days of the month, the Islamic State claimed fifteen attacks on villages and along roads in the area, estimating the total victims at 125. The numbers fluctuate, the sources do not agree: some say just over one hundred, others almost one hundred and fifty. Details in a context that becomes more complicated every day. The Congolese branch of the Caliphate is represented by the ADF, the Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel coalition made up mostly of Ugandan Muslim militiamen, which has been raging in the eastern part of the country for three decades. For years the regular forces (Congolese and Ugandan) have been conducting joint operations against the ADF in North Kivu and in the province of Ituri, without managing to do much to eradicate the jihadist group: paradoxically, the result of the military offensive was that to progressively move the area in which jihadists launch attacks against civilians further and further west. It is estimated that the ADF murdered 849 people in 2020 alone (men, women and even children) in the territories where it rages. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (Acled) certifies more than a thousand deaths in 2023. The picture is made even more complex by the fact that – as African News reports – there are “more than one hundred and twenty terrorist groups in the region, fighting for power , land and mineral resources”. Groups taking advantage of the chaos to expand their influence on an already unstable region. Christians are especially targeted (represent 95 percent of the Congolese population)as Open Doors’ World Watch List highlights.
The US State Department’s report on terrorism has long placed the activities of the Islamist microcosm in Congo under observation. The ADF swore allegiance to ISIS in 2017, but had been conducting operations against the state armed forces and soldiers of the UN MONUSCO mission long before that. Between 2020 and 2022, the jihadists’ operational area more than doubled. This was possible thanks to both local resources and the international connections of former leader Jamil Mukulu, who worked to obtain funding from abroad. About a third of the members of the ADF are Ugandan and the recruitment takes place – they write in Washington – “through coercion and deception”. More and more, however, there are foreign militiamen coming from Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, Rwanda and even Jordan. The attacks intensified as farmers prepared for harvest, forcing them to flee and thus depriving them of their livelihoods. Last Sunday, at the end of the Angelus, the Pope made an appeal to the local authorities and the international community “to do everything possible to stop the violence and to safeguard the lives of civilians. Among the victims, many are Christians killed in odium fidei. They are martyrs. Their sacrifice is a seed that germinates and bears fruit, and teaches us to bear witness to the Gospel with courage and coherence.” More than five million are displaced (according to the Civil Society Coordination of Bukavu, there are seven million) and humanitarian aid is unable to reach the areas most exposed to jihadist violence. Often, those who raise their voices against violence are kidnapped and nothing is heard of them again.
The appeal of local civil society representatives is to look carefully at what is happening in Africa, especially in the vast sub-Saharan quadrant: Nigeria, Congo, Mozambique, Somalia. The advance of Islamist groups, affiliated – some more, some less – to ISIS is evidence that it is putting state institutions in crisis. One more problem in addition to the humanitarian drama.
