Kasindi church bombing

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Kasindi church bombing
Part of the ADF insurgency
Kasindi church bombing
Location Kasindi, North Kivu, DR Congo
Coordinates 00°02′52″N29°41′11″E / 0.04778°N 29.68639°E / 0.04778; 29.68639
Date15 January 2023
Target Pentecostal church
Attack type
 Bombing
Deaths17
Injured39
PerpetratorAQMI Flag asymmetric.svg ISIL

On 15 January 2023, a bomb exploded during a Sunday service in a Pentecostal church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The attack occurred in Kasindi in the northeastern province of North Kivu, close to the Ugandan border. [1] The attack killed at least 17 people and left 39 more were injured. [2] The Islamic State – Central Africa Province (IS-CAP) claimed responsibility for the attack. [3] [1] [4]

Reaction and response

Authorities in the DRC blamed the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan Islamist group whose insurgency began in 1996 and spread to the DRC; the group has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. A Kenyan national was arrested at the scene. [5] [6]

Pope Francis sent his condolences to the victims of the bombing ahead of his scheduled visit to the DRC in 2023. [7] Peter Mathuki, then-Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC), condemned the " horrific attack on worshippers" in a statement. [8] The government of France issued a condemnation of the attacks, stating it "expresses its full solidarity with the Congolese people at this difficult time". [9]

References

  1. 1 2 "Bomb detonates in DRC church, linked to ADF". New Vision. 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  2. ↑ "DR Congo government blames rebels for Kasindi church bombing". BBC News. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Several killed in DR Congo church bomb attack". Al Jazeera. 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  4. ↑ "Bomb detonates in DR Congo church, linked to ADF". MSN. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  5. ↑ Kabumba, Justin; Maliro, Al-Hadji Kudra (15 January 2023). "Congo's Army Says Church Bomb Kills 10, Extremists Suspected". Independent. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  6. ↑ "Several Killed in DR Congo Church Bomb Attack". Al Jazeera. 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  7. ↑ "Pope, ahead of Congo visit, sends prayers for church bombing". San Diego Union-Tribune. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  8. ↑ "EAC Secretary General Condemns Church Bomb Attack In North Kivu, Eastern DRC". East African Community. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  9. ↑ "Democratic Republic of the Congo – France condemns the bomb attack in a church in Kasindi (15 Jan. 2023)". France Diplomacy - Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. 15 January 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
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