Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – Seriously injured Guy-Robert Mandro, parish priest of Fataki, in the territory of Djugu, in Ituri, in the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The aggression took place the 10th March along the street leading to Kondoni, a village not so far from his parish, where the priest was going to by motorbike in order to verify the security status of the area, given that the day before the presence of armed men was reported.
According to the witnesses, at least two people, including the priest, were seriously injured with machetes by a group of men identified as belonging to the CODECO (Coalition of Congolese Democrats), one of the several armed movements active in the area.
F. Mandro still managed to run away with several blessings from machete in the back part of his body, on his head and with three amputated fingers. Because of his serious conditions, the priest was moved by a helicopter of MONUSCO (the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) from Fataki to Bunia in order to receive an adequate medical treatment. In an official declaration, the Bunia diocese condemned the attack and asked to the competent authorities to investigate about the issue so that the authors of such acts can be found and brought to justice. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 12/3/2020)
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