AFRICA/DR CONGO - After the Bishops also civil society denounces the massacres committed by jihadists in Beni, "the world must intervene"

Tuesday, 9 June 2015

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - Who has killed 430 people in such a horrendous way, from October to today, in the territory of Beni (North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo)? They are jihadist terrorists, say the leaders of local civil society in a press conference that was held on 8 June in Kinshasa. The complaint follows one made in late May by the Catholic Bishops of the Province of Bukavu (see Fides 26/05/2015). Having denied the rumors of complicity in the massacres by the regular Congolese troops and peacekeepers of the UN Mission (MONUSCO), civil society representatives state that those responsible for these crimes are Boko Haram jihadists in Nigeria and the Somali Shebaab. Their goal is to create "a system of terror of systematic purge of the civilian population" in order to reach "the depopulation of these areas, to occupy them and gradually start the exploitation of their natural resources and the establishment of terrorist training bases".
The jihadists, from Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Sudan, Burundi, Central Africa and Congo, act under the name of ADF-NALU (a group of Ugandan origin) but has now changed its name, becoming Muslim Defense International (MDI).
"The far north of the Territory of Beni, in the Virunga Park and in the valley of the river Semuliki, welcomed until recently training centers to train these terrorists", said a statement sent to Agenzia Fides.
The Congolese army has managed to dismantle several fields of jihadists (called Madina, Canada, Issa, Makoyova, Makembi, Tsutsubo, Abia Kambi Ya Miba, Kambi Ya Chui) but the latter took revenge on the local population. Civil society in North Kivu calls for urgent action by the international community to address this threat that is likely to take place in other areas of the region. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 09/06/2015)


Share: