Locals call for prayer as 70 bodies found in Democratic Republic of Congo church after attack

ACI Africa, Feb 23, 2025 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Locals at a village in the embattled North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are appealing for prayers after approximately 70 bodies were found inside a church building in the village.

Local sources contacted by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International said the killings took place between Feb. 12 and Feb. 15 in Maiba, a village in the eastern region of the DRC. 

In a report that ACN published on Feb. 21, the sources said that on Feb. 12, rebels from an Islamist terrorist group, originally from Uganda, entered the village and took approximately 100 people hostage.

The sources recounted that on Feb. 15, about 70 bodies were discovered inside a Protestant church. 

“Many of them had been bound and some beheaded. Among the victims were women, children, and the elderly,” said the source, which ACN did not identify for fear of reprisals from the many armed groups that operate in the region.

“It is likely that these victims were unable to resist or endure the forced march, because when the rebels take hostages, they make them travel with them, either as reinforcements for their group or as forced labor for the war effort,” the source is quoted as telling ACN. 

According to the source, abductors force people to carry the loot after raiding villages.

“If you get tired on the way, you’re done,” the source told ACN. “I believe that is what happened to these 70 people.”

According to the same sources, the Maiba massacre was carried out by the armed Islamist group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which operates in Uganda and the DRC and has terrorized the local population for over a decade.

“The Islamic groups have stepped up their attacks and raids in remote villages, killing thousands of Congolese civilians. Before they used to be in other areas, but now it is Lubero which is being attacked,” the local source told ACN.

The source shared that fear has gripped the village because the residents believe that the terrorists have local collaborators who facilitate their operations.

This Maiba massacre comes at a very delicate time for the region, given the worsening of the humanitarian situation in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, which have seen heavy terrorization by another armed group, the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels.

Reportedly supported by neighboring Rwanda and the Congolese armed forces, the M23 has taken important cities and outposts in the region, including Goma and Bukavu, amid heavy fighting.

ACN’s local sources have expressed fear that over the next few days, M23 will take Butembo, North Kivu’s second-largest city, as it did Goma and Bukavu.

“We are living through very, very difficult times. We are expecting the rebels to enter the city any moment now, as they are only 70 kilometers [about 44 miles] away from here. There is a lot of psychological suffering in Butembo, because the war is literally at our door. We have seen how other regions were overrun by chaos, and now it seems it is our turn,” the source is quoted as saying.

The source concluded with a call for prayers, imploring: “Let us pray. Prayer is what keeps our hope alive amidst this situation we are living through.”

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/262381/locals-call-for-prayer-as-70-bodies-found-in-democratic-republic-of-congo-church-after-rebel-attack