Fr. Marcelo Oliveira: “Terrorists in DR Congo Forcing Villagers to Flee Wealthy Homes”

“The method is to make people flee and thus take part of the lands where there is immense wealth,” Fr. Oliveira has been quoted as telling Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Portugal. Referencing the January 15 attack on the Church of Christ Congo, (ECC-CEPAC), the member of the Comboni Missionaries (MCCJ) said, “The rebels are trying to eliminate the population by attacking areas … where there are people so that these people flee, leaving their lands, leaving their homes.”

The ECC-CEPAC in the Eastern Congolese city of Kasindi, on the border with Uganda, was reportedly attacked when an explosive device was detonated at the church premise during a service leaving at least 17 people dead and 39 others injured. The Eastern part of DRC has been experiencing violent clashes with dozens of armed groups believed to be operating in the region despite the presence of peacekeepers from the United Nations and the East African Community Regional Forces.

In the report published January 20, Fr. Oliveira denounces the silence of the international community amid terror attacks in Eastern DRC. “It's a village here today, then out there, and all this in silence... and this is what so often irks us as missionaries, to see the silence of the international community, the silence that is so loud when there are human lives that are massacred,” says the Comboni Priest.

Pope Francis is set to begin his previously postponed trip to two African countries from the DRC. Like the itinerary in the postponed visit, the January 31 – February 5 two-African-nation trip is scheduled to begin in the capital city of DRC, Kinshasa, and conclude in South Sudan’s capital city, Juba.

[Magdalene Kahiu – ACI Africa]