DR Congo persecution: Islamic terror group believed to have bombed church; “Please Pray”

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – It is believed that the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) Islamic terror group were responsible for planting the bomb which exploded inside a Catholic church just before the start of a confirmation ceremony in Beni City, DR Congo on Sunday, International Christian Concern reports. While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the ADF has terrorized DR Congo for decades.

Islamic extremist violence in DRC continues to worsen, and the nation now ranks 40 on the US Open Doors Watch list of countries where Christians are persecuted, ICC says. The large majority of the Congolese population identifies as Christian, and these civilians are especially targeted by Islamic terrorists.

In a statement that referenced the ADF, Open Doors spokesperson Illia Djadi explained: “Predominantly Christian communities are attacked by an Islamic extremist group with a clear Islamic expansionist agenda.”

Sunday’s explosion occurred once the congregation, including children, had gathered for a confirmation ceremony. “I had just entered the church, I hadn’t even managed to sit down, I heard ‘Boom’… Blood started flowing from my mouth,” Antoinette Kavira, told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) from her hospital bed. Beni’s Vicar General Laurent Sondirya said in a separate statement: “[The terrorists] were targeting a large crowd because the ceremony would bring together children, their parents, and the faithful.”

ICC has issued a fresh call to prayer for DRC: “Please continue to pray for the healing of those traumatized by violence in the DRC, and for the Lord to comfort those who are grieving the loss of loved ones. Please also pray for the Lord to strengthen government protection over its people and bring peace to the nation, and for the love of Jesus to redeem the souls of those who persecute the church.”

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