A homemade bomb exploded early Sunday in a church in Beni in North Kivu, a province in Eastern DRC. Beni, a town that regularly suffers deadly raids attributed to Ugandan ADF rebels. The attack left at least two people injured and no one has claimed responsibility. An investigation has been opened.
Around 6 o’clock this morning, the Butsili neighborhood was shaken by an explosion. A homemade bomb had just exploded in the Emmanuel-Butsili Catholic Church.” There is material damage because everything inside was damaged by this bomb. There are mothers who got up early this morning to go and fix the church. They are the ones who came in for the first time and they have suffered injuries, but their lives are not in danger,” the head of the neighborhood, Josué Musanzalire, told RFI.
The two women had come earlier to prepare the church before an important mass for the confirmation of two children. Kizito Bin Hangi, president of Beni’s civil society, said that two other bombs were found in the church but that they did not explode. The two wounded are being treated in hospital and one of them has a serious foot injury, according to the district chief, who also said that the Sunday mass could still take place.
“They are getting organized at the general referral hospital in Beni. Now, so far, we don’t know who placed the bomb in the church. Investigations are underway, but it really scares us to death,” he added.
This is the first time a church has been targeted in Beni territory, which is home to the ADF, an armed rebel group that claims allegiance to the Islamic State, although there is no evidence to date of actual support from the EI. Last May, two imams critical of the ADF were killed.