DRC: Suicide bomber kills five in Christian area

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Five people were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Christmas Day when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a hotel restaurant in North Kivu, an area where Christians are known to live, Christian Today (CT) reports.

It is believed the terrorist was a member of the Islamist Congolese rebel organization known as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

The terror attack took place at the Ishango hotel restaurant in Beni, North Kivu, eastern DRC, at around 7pm on December 25, CT reports. Two children were among the five victims who lost their lives. The bomber also died.

Although no one has not claimed responsibility for it, the attack bears the hallmarks of atrocities previously committed by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces, CT said. ADF attacks have also specifically targeted churches: this year alone the ADF has killed hundreds of Christians and caused thousands more to be homeless.

The Anglican Bishop of Beni, Cyrile Kambale, described the attack in a statement as a “cowardice activity carried out by weak rebels who want to make followers of their faith by force.” Moreover, Kambale said: “They targeted the hotel because they knew that many people would gather in the evening to continue celebrating Christmas.” Nevertheless, Kambale asserted: “We shall not let fear diminish the joy of Christ in this season, and we shall stand in prayer with the families of those killed today.”

In a statement about the attack, the Congolese government said: “The government condemns the explosion, on this Christmas evening, of a bomb in a restaurant in Beni, the work of a suicide bomber. The security services are deployed.”

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