Kinshasa, 21 September, 2025 / 9:58 pm (ACI Africa).
Members of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) have denounced the new wave of deadly attacks in the Eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), decrying what they describe as the growing trivialization of human life in the Central African nation.
In a statement shared with ACI Africa on Tuesday, September 16, CENCO members highlight recent attacks and express concern about the “evolution of the security situation, particularly in the Eastern part of the country, which continues to suffer enormous loss of human life as a result of various forms of violence.”
“In Ituri Province, on August 16, 2025, on the way to Bule Center in the Djugu Territory, rebels of the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO) carried out attacks against the civilian population. The toll of this attack was five people killed, four injured, and about ten houses set on fire,” they recount in their statement dated September 12.
CENCO members add, “While places of worship are protected by the Constitution and laws of the Republic, Saint Kizito Propaedeutic Seminary in Bunia suffered a violent intrusion by armed men during the night of August 19 to 20, 2025.”
“This attack follows the assault on Blessed Anuarite Parish in Komanda, Djugu Territory, where more than 40 Catholic faithful, gathered for prayer on the night of July 26 to 27, were killed by the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces),” CENCO members further recount.
