Kasindi church bombing

Last updated
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
PerpetratorFlag of the Islamic State.svg Islamic State

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]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allied Democratic Forces</span> Ugandan rebel group

The Allied Democratic Forces is an Islamist rebel group in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It considered a terrorist organisation by the Ugandan government and the United States. It was originally based in western Uganda but has expanded into the neighbouring DRC. Most Ugandan ADF fighters are Muslims from the Baganda and Basoga ethnic groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo</span> City in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Beni is a city in north eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, lying immediately west of the Virunga National Park and the Rwenzori Mountains, on the edge of the Ituri Forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kivu conflict</span> Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Kivu conflict is an umbrella term for a series of protracted armed conflicts in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo which have occurred since the end of the Second Congo War. Including neighboring Ituri province, there are more than 120 different armed groups active in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Currently, some of the most active rebel groups include the Allied Democratic Forces, the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, the March 23 Movement, and many local Mai Mai militias. In addition to rebel groups and the governmental FARDC troops, a number of national and international organizations have intervened militarily in the conflict, including the United Nations force known as MONUSCO, and an East African Community regional force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allied Democratic Forces insurgency</span> Islamist insurgency in the DR Congo and Uganda

The Allied Democratic Forces insurgency is an ongoing conflict waged by the Allied Democratic Forces in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, against the governments of those two countries and the MONUSCO. The insurgency began in 1996, intensifying in 2013, resulting in hundreds of deaths. The ADF is known to currently control a number of hidden camps which are home to about 2,000 people; in these camps, the ADF operates as a proto-state with "an internal security service, a prison, health clinics, and an orphanage" as well as schools for boys and girls.

Kasindi is a town in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is located in the province of North Kivu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beni massacre</span> 2016 massacre in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo

On 14 August 2016, multiple assailants raided the district of Rwangoma in the city of Beni which is located in North Kivu of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The city is located in the popular Virunga National Park. At least 64 people were killed, as 64 bodies had been located during the search. Officials estimate the death toll to be from 75 to 101. An unknown number of people were injured. The Ugandan rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were suspected to be behind to attack by the DRC. The incident is another in a series of massacres in Beni that have left over 700 people dead since October 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Semuliki attack</span>

The 2017 Semuliki attack was an attack carried out by elements of the Allied Democratic Forces on a United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) operating base in the Beni Territory, North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on December 7, 2017. The attack was highly coordinated and resulted in the deaths of fifteen U.N. peacekeeping personnel and wounds to 53 others making it the deadliest incident for the U.N. since the deaths of twenty-four Pakistani peacekeepers in an ambush in Somalia in 1993. The attack was among many of the latest flare-ups in violence in the North Kivu region which borders Uganda and Rwanda and one of the ADF's deadliest attacks in recent history. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres labeled the attack, "the worst attack on UN peacekeepers in the organization's recent history."

Events in the year 2021 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Attacks were carried out by various armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2021 and 2022. The attacks have killed 629 and injured 321. At least 82 perpetrators were also killed and one injured in these attacks.

Events in the year 2021 in the Republic of the Congo.

From late October to mid November 2021, the Islamic State organization carried out four bombing attacks across Uganda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M23 offensive (2022–present)</span> Conflict in the DR Congo

In late March 2022, the March 23 Movement (M23), supported by Rwanda, launched an offensive in North Kivu against the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and MONUSCO. The fighting displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians and caused renewed tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.

Events of the year 2023 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On 22 January 2023 in Makugwe in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Islamists killed about 20 people.

During 8–9 March 2023, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) carried out a massacre in the village of Mukondi in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Events of the year 2024 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Operation Shujaa is an ongoing military offensive conducted by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda against insurgent forces in Kivu and Ituri, mainly Islamic State (IS) affiliates and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Launched in November 2021, it has resulted in significant losses for the targeted rebel forces and substantially reduced their activity. At times, the government forces engaged in Operation Shujaa have also fought non-ADF/IS rebel groups.

On December 31, 2020, jihadist militants from the Islamic State affiliate Allied Democratic Forces attacked the village of Tingwe, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least thirty people. Several other civilians were kidnapped as well.

On January 4, 2021, jihadists from the Allied Democratic Forces attacked the village of Mwenda, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 23 people. The massacre came several days after an attack on Tingwe that killed over 30 people.

At 2am on March 15, 2021, jihadists from the Allied Democratic Forces attacked the town of Bulongo, Beni Territory, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 15 people.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bomb detonates in DRC church, linked to ADF". New Vision. Archived from the original on 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  2. ↑ "DR Congo government blames rebels for Kasindi church bombing". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-01-15. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  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 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  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. 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  8. ↑ "EAC Secretary General Condemns Church Bomb Attack In North Kivu, Eastern DRC". East African Community. 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  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. 2023-01-15. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
SIG220-Morges.jpg

This terrorism-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.