The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed seven, severely injured one, and left several people missing after attacking the Christian villages of Kawame and Mapili in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Eyewitnesses who watched the attack on Kawame unfold on 13 August said ADF rebels killed three people. Early the next morning, the fighters attacked Mapili, killing four more people and severely injuring another. Several other villagers were abducted and taken into the surrounding forest. Their whereabouts and conditions are unknown.
One eyewitness, a resident from Kawame, recalled hearing the initial gunshots at night. “It was terrifying,” he said. “We never thought this would happen here.”
Another survivor from Mapili said he and several others ran for their lives when the ADF attacked their village. “It was chaos, people screaming and trying to escape,” he said. “…The rebels could utter the word ‘bismillah’ while killing our innocent Christians.” The Arabic word, which means “In the name of Allah …,” is often used to start an Islamic prayer.
Local leaders are calling for urgent action from government authorities to ensure better protection for civilians and to address the root causes of such violence caused by the people he called the “Allahakbarists”.
“These acts of terror are not only a threat to our safety but also continue to impoverish our local Christian population,” the bishop of the Anglican Church in Beni said. “As Christians, we are living in fear every day; we cannot go about our lives knowing that at any moment we could be attacked by the Islamists.”
These attacks occurred only a day after those of Madududu and Anditongo, where the ADF killed two people, burned several homes, and looted many shops.
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