Catholic Bishop Condemns Deadly Attack on Hospital in DR Congo, Challenges Government to “wake up from slumber”

Butembo-Beni, 18 November, 2025 / 8:30 PM

Bishop Melchisedec Sikuli Paluku of the Catholic Diocese of Butembo-Beni in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has condemned the killing of several civilians, among them over a dozen patients, in an attack reportedly by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group on a Church-run health facility in Biambwe, North Kivu Province.

In a statement issued Sunday, November 16, Bishop Palaku says, “It is with deep dismay that we learned the heartbreaking news of the massacre of several people, including 18 patients who had been admitted for medical care at the Biambwe Referral Health Centre.”

He adds, “They were victims of an incursion by individuals identified as ADF on the night of 14 November 2025, in Saint Paul Parish of Biambwe.”

The Parish is located 62 km west of the city of Butembo, in the Manzya Grouping, Baswagha Chiefdom, Lubero Territory, North Kivu Province, in the eastern part of the DRC.

“We condemn the burning of the Biambwe Referral Health Centre, served by the Sisters of the Little Sisters of the Presentation of Our Lady (PSP) of Butembo-Beni,” the Catholic Church leader says.

He also laments the “consequences of this tragedy, which has led to the displacement of populations fleeing the horror of the killings, the closure of schools, and the complete paralysis of economic and agricultural activities, not to mention the trauma inflicted on the people.”

“To all the families affected by this latest horrific carnage—following that of Ntoyo, perpetrated on 10 September 2025 in Saint Joseph Parish of Manguredjipa—as well as to all the faithful and the entire population of Biambwe, we express our spiritual closeness,” Bishop Paluku says.

While commending the souls of the victims to divine mercy, he prays that “God, the Lord of Life, may strengthen us through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Consoler of the afflicted.”

Bishop Paluku goes on to fault the Congolese government for its failure to protect civilians in the conflict-torn region.

“Given the magnitude of this tragedy, we call on the Congolese State to wake up from its slumber,” the Catholic Bishop says.

He queries, “How many deaths will it take for our State to assume its responsibility by effectively protecting its population and their property? Enough is enough!”