More than 10 Christians were killed Tuesday when an Islamist extremist group ambushed their three vehicles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The attack occurred near the village of Makisabo, Beni. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamist extremist group, allegedly blocked the Beni-Kasindi Road, shot all the passengers, and set the vehicles on fire, according to persecution watchdog International Christian Concern. (ICC)
Activities along the road have since been halted. ICC spoke to one of the taxi operators along this route, which is the only corridor connecting Uganda and the eastern region of the DRC.
“The 5 p.m. incident led to the death of our fellow drivers and our customers who wanted to reach home and be with their families,” the taxi operator told the ICC. “We are saddened that the ADF rebels continue to make our lives difficult here in Congo. There is no single day that they do not kill people. The villages are unsafe. The roads are unsafe. The towns are unsafe. We only live by God’s mercy. Now we cannot work because they have attacked Makisabo. We don’t know how long this will take before the road is opened again.”
The attack comes a day after the East African Community (EAC) heads of state convened in Nairobi, Kenya, led by its chair, President Uhuru Kenyatta, to discuss the security situation in the eastern region of the DRC. The participants agreed to accelerate regional efforts to “attain sustainable peace and security in Eastern DRC,” deploy more forces to conduct joint operations with the Congolese military, and call for a disarmament “exercise in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu.”
Church leaders have condemned the attack, calling it an atrocity against Christians.
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Source: CBN
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