Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - "We hear with great interest the news of the arrest of the Islamist terrorist Salim Mohamed by the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on January 29 in the Batangi-Balilaye region, in the Beni area, North Kivu province, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo", says a statement from the Congolese non-governmental organization CEPADHO (Center for Studies for the Promotion of Peace, Democracy and Human Rights), based in Goma. "This is a terrorist of Kenyan nationality known for his propaganda on social media, posting gruesome images of hostage shootings and messages inciting the Muslim community to violent extremism," it said.
CEPADHO points out that the arrested person is a member of the Islamic State. He is said to have been deployed to eastern DRC to support the ADF/MTM (Allied Democratic Forces/Madinat Tawhid wa-l-Muwahidin), a Ugandan-origin guerrilla group that has been causing insecurity in the region for several years. Salim Mohamed is also said to be in contact with the Ansar Al-Sunna group operating in northern Mozambique, another jihadist organization pro-Islamic State. CEPADHO describes the arrest of Salim Mohamed as a "welcome success". "This is a large-scale operation that is the result of cooperation between the Congolese armed forces and the local population", the statement said. In this context, it is noted that "thanks to the efforts of the Congolese armed forces and security services", other terrorists of foreign origin active in the east of the DRC have recently been caught. They are the Jordanian Abou Omar and the Ugandan Benjamin Benjamin Kisokeranio, considered one of the founders of ADF/MTM. "CEPADHO hopes that the capture of these terrorists will help to weaken the ADF/MTM and give greater impetus to the joint operation by the Congolese and Ugandan armies to defeat the jihadists, which began on November 30, 2021". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 1/2/2022)
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