Explosion in Congo church kills 5 people
2023.01.15 13:23
Explosion in Congo church kills 5 people
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – According to the military, a suspected bombing by Islamist militants caused at least five deaths and 15 injuries during a Sunday service at a Protestant church in the eastern Congolese city of Kasindi, on the Uganda-Congo border.
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan militant group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, was most likely responsible for the attack that occurred during a Sunday worship service, according to a spokesman for the army.
Anthony Mualushay told Reuters by phone, “The first indications show that it is the ADF which is behind this bomb attack, despite the security measures put in place.”
For comment, the ADF could not be reached. It hasn’t said that the bombing was its fault.
Alain Kitsa, a Kasindi resident, called to say, “I just came back from the scene, where I saw the bodies of children on the ground,” describing the tense atmosphere in the town.
According to Charles Omeonga, the local territorial administrator, this would be the first time the ADF had targeted Kasindi since the group increased its attacks in the region in 2014, according to Reuters. The estimated death toll was at least 10.
A campaign against the ADF, which began as an uprising in Uganda but has been based in Congo since the late 1990s, has been launched by Congolese and Ugandan forces in the province of Kasindi.
It is alleged to have killed hundreds of villagers in frequent raids over the past two years and pledged allegiance to Islamic State in the middle of 2019.
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