The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed at least seven Christians during an overnight attack on May 30 in Beni, located in North Kivu Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to the local chief, the victims belonged to the Pygmy community of the Twa ethnic group and were murdered in the Ngadi neighborhood, in the Ruwenzori district.
Testimonies from survivors indicate that the attackers blocked any attempt by civilians to escape before executing them.
“I almost died in that attack,” a Christian villager said. “They arrived without us realizing it. They woke us up and, with an Islamic shout, ‘Allahu Akbar,’ the shooting started, and people began to be slaughtered like animals.
“In the midst of the chaos, I managed to escape the camp. I was with Shukrani Mangese, who returned because he was worried about his parents, and that is when they killed him along with them. We are Pygmies. We do not know anything about politics, but they are killing us.”
Outraged by the security failure, local youth and residents launched protests in Beni. Demonstrators carried the bodies of the victims on makeshift stretchers toward the city center, blocking roads with stones to condemn the slow military response. Police forces used tear gas to disperse the crowds. Amid the confusion, officers recovered some of the victims’ bodies.
In a related incident, four people were kidnapped by ADF armed men on the road connecting Kiwanja and Kanyabayonga, in the heart of Virunga National Park near Busendo in Rutshuru territory, also in North Kivu.
Among those kidnapped was Father Gédéon Kasereka Bahati, a Catholic priest from the parish of Saint Joseph in Bobandana, Diocese of Goma. He was captured after officiating a wedding in Kanyabayonga. His driver and the newlywed couple were also taken hostage.
The killings come as the DRC battles a new Ebola outbreak — its 17th epidemic since 1976.
The Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Beni condemned the killings, pleading for unity and peace.
“We strongly condemn the killing of innocent civilians in Beni,” he said. “We call upon all communities to remain united in this painful moment and to reject any form of violence or religious persecution. Peace and justice must prevail for healing to take place.”