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At least 10 people were killed and 39 injured in a bomb attack on a church in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo on Sunday.
Congolese military spokesman Antony Mouarshay said the “terrorist act” took place at a Pentecostal church in Kasindi, North Kivu province, which borders Uganda.
At least 10 people were killed and 39 injured in the blast, he added, revising the initial death toll to five.
But Bilal Katamba, the spokesman for Ugandan military operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said Sunday night that 16 people were killed and 20 injured in the explosion.
“The attacker used an IED to carry out the attack, but we believe ADF is behind the attack,” he added.
The DRC’s Ministry of Communications said on social media that the attack appeared to have been carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
The ADF is one of the deadliest of more than 120 armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Much of it is a legacy of regional warfare that raged at the turn of the century in a vastly impoverished country.
He is accused of slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and of bombing Uganda. ADF operatives have also planted bombs in the town of North Kivu in the past.
On Sunday night, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying “nearly 20” people were killed, according to a specialized surveillance group, the Site Intelligence Group.
Army spokesman Muar Shai said a Kenyan suspect had been arrested after the attack.
– “God saved me” –
Esdras Camberle Mpanya, deacon of an evangelical church in Kasindi, said worshipers gathered for a baptism before the bomb exploded.
“Some of us died on the spot, others had their legs cut in two,” said the 42-year-old man. “God saved me and I came out fine with my choir members. Today wasn’t the day I should have died.”
Fellow survivor Jean-Paul Schauswa said the explosion happened shortly after a group of people were baptized, and that the blind pastor was commenting on a Bible verse.
“The bomb threw me at least 100 meters (yards),” he said.
Kizza Kibua, a 50-year-old farmer who lost a brother in the attack, said he struggled to come to terms with the loss of “a loved one who went to church to pray.”
He added that he believes the government neglects its citizens.
“How can this happen when Kasindi is full of soldiers?” said Kivua.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s presidential office condemned the bombing, which UN peacekeepers described as a “cowardly and cowardly attack”.
– “More Visible, More Deadly” –
In 2021, the United States designated the ADF a “foreign terrorist organization,” acknowledging its ties to the Islamic State group. The militia operates mainly in North Kivu and neighboring Ituri.
In the same year, a joint Congolese-Uganda military operation was launched targeting the ADF in the DRC.
However, the attacks continue.
A report by independent UN Security Council experts released in December said that despite military operations in the Congo and Uganda, the ADF “continues its geographical expansion”, killing at least 370 people since April 2022. He said he killed civilians.
It also warned that the ADF had changed tactics, opting for “more visible and deadly” bomb attacks in urban areas.
For example, last April a woman detonated a suicide vest in a bar in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, according to independent UN experts. The attack killed 6 of her and wounded her 16 more.
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has put North Kivu and Ituri under so-called siege to stem violence in 2021, with military officials replacing civilian administrators.
This measure has largely failed to deter attacks against civilians.
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