By Sabrine Amboka, ACI Africa
Locals at a village in the embattled North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are appealing for prayers after approximately 70 bodies were found inside a church building in the village.
Local sources contacted by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International said the killings took place between Feb. 12 and Feb. 15 in Maiba, a village in the eastern region of the DRC.
In a report that ACN published on Feb. 21, the sources said that on Feb. 12, rebels from an Islamist terrorist group, originally from Uganda, entered the village and took approximately 100 people hostage. The sources recounted that on Feb. 15, about 70 bodies were discovered inside a Protestant church.
“Many of them had been bound and some beheaded. Among the victims were women, children, and the elderly,” said the source, which ACN did not identify for fear of reprisals from the many armed groups that operate in the region.
“It is likely that these victims were unable to resist or endure the forced march, because when the rebels take hostages, they make them travel with them, either as reinforcements for their group or as forced labor for the war effort,” the source is quoted as telling ACN.
According to the source, abductors force people to carry the loot after raiding villages.
“If you get tired on the way, you’re done,” the source told ACN. “I believe that is what happened to these 70 people.”
This story was first published by ACI Africa, Catholic News Agency’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.
First published February 23, 2025
