AFRICA/CONGO DR – The Bishop of Kilwa-Kasenga launches an alarm on the resumption of the violence carried out by the Bakata Katanga

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - Bishop Fulgence Muteba Mugalu, Bishop of Kilwa-Kasenga, launched the alarm on the resumption of the activities of the Bakata Katanga armed group, in the so-called "triangle of death", Pweto-Mitwaba-Manono, in the province of Katanga (in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo). "The farmers reported a massive movement of the Bakata Katanga", said Bishop Muteba to Radio Okapi. "At first a group of 12 young people were seen, then another larger group was noticed".
According to testimonies these two groups went to an unidentified grouping site and looted everything they came across in the camps, recruiting some young people by force. "The situation is dramatic", said the Bishop. The violence against civilians committed by Bakata Katanga have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee (see Fides 30/01/2014) .
The Congolese press says that the group and its eventual sponsors remain a mystery. There is a report of the National Assembly on the Bakata Katanga, but it has been classified. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 02/04/2014)