‘How long will violence last?’ – missionaries sound alarm over terrorist attacks

Missionaries in Democratic Republic of the Congo have told a Catholic charity a fresh humanitarian crisis is unfolding – as militant attacks have left dozens of villages abandoned. 

Hundreds have fled villages leaving everything behind as terrorists ravage the countryside in the north-eastern Upper Uele Province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Several missionaries contacted Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need highlighting the desperation as villagers converge on cities which are ill-prepared to host the influx of internally displaced people (IDPs).

Father Claudino Gomes said villagers have abandoned their farms: “The fields, the bean and peanut plantations, which were ready to be harvested and sown with rice, have been abandoned. All the cattle was lost, houses set ablaze. It’s all gone. The ghost of hunger is already visible.”

The Comboni missionary said the city of Isiro recently “awoke to the mass arrival of IDPs”, a wave of people from “dozens of villages in the bush”, with some trekking around 78 miles (125 kilometres) to find refuge.

Fr Gomes said the situation caught everybody by surprise as it was widely believed that the fighting was mostly confined to the east of the country, in North Kivu and South Kivu.

He added: “In Elimba, the most distant community from the parish, the terrorists killed several people who were engaged in small-scale gold panning. 

“The large village of Ndubala also witnessed violence and death. Everybody asks themselves how long this violence will last.” 

Father Bienvenu Clemy, pastor of Our Lady of the Afflicted Catholic Church, Mungbere – another Comboni missionary – told ACN his parish has also been hit by the renewed violence.

He said: “Mungbere is a small city in the province of Upper Uele. It has always been peaceful. However, since about one month ago we have been in a difficult situation because of the insecurity caused by the fighting between the armed forces and the rebels.

“Most people fled, but our community decided we should remain with the poor, because there are some here who have no family, so we stayed with them.

“The main issue is how to feed these people, because they can no longer go into the bush to tend to their farms. We are trying to manage, sharing what we have, and we are praying for things to settle.”

But in cities like Isiro, Fr Gomes said hope was on the horizon with local families opening up their homes with some welcoming between 10 and 20 people.

The authorities have also been setting up support structures, including in schools, and Catholic and Protestant parishes and convents are also helping. 

Fr Gomes added: “In the Catholic parish of Saint Anne, where I work, we are welcoming those who need shelter and supporting the families that have opened their hearts and their doors to those who arrived almost empty-handed. 

“Currently we have 140 people staying with us and we are supporting 40 families with rice and beans.”

Fr Marcelo Oliveira, a Comboni missionary in Kinshasa, said: “God does not abandon his people – he walks with them. 

“So we, missionaries, will continue to accompany the people, despite persecution, even in suffering, even when we do not have enough, we will remain with the people. We are living signs of God’s presence.” 

With thanks to Paulo Aido