Congo Bomb attack: 10 killed, 39 injured at church in DR
Congo, January 16: In Congo bomb attack at a Protestant church in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC )at least 10 people have been killed and 39 others injured.
Notably, the attack took place during the Sunday service in the city of Kasindi, on the border with Uganda, was carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan armed group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
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Later, the ISIL group claimed responsibility for the attack. The ADF, initially an uprising in Uganda, has been based in DRC since the late 1990s.
According to the eyewitnesses, the blast severed some people's limbs from their bodies.
Meanwhile, a campaign has been launched against the ADF by the Congolese and Ugandan forces in Congo's Kasindi province. The ADF pledged allegiance to the ISIL in mid-2019 and has been accused of killing hundreds of villagers in frequent raids over the past two years.
Troops from Uganda's army have deployed to eastern Congo to try to stem the violence, but the attacks have increased. ADF attacks since April 2022 have killed at least 370 civilians and involved the abduction of several hundred more.
ADF extended its operation to Goma and into the neighbouring Ituri province.
More than 120 armed groups roam mineral-rich eastern DRC. Many are the legacy of regional wars that flared at the turn of the century.
Ruchira Kamboj, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, said that the activities of armed groups have continued unabated which has resulted in killings of civilians, displacement of people and caused a "dire humanitarian situation."
"India remains concerned at the volatile security situation in the eastern DRC (The Democratic Republic of the Congo). The activities of armed groups have continued unabated, resulting in killings of civilians, displacement of the population and a dire humanitarian situation," Ruchira Kamboj said.
- ANI
