An Islamist terror group in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo reportedly initiated a bombing attack on the In Box restaurant in Ishango on the evening of Christmas Day leaving 14 injured and six killed. Two of those who were killed were children.
As per the International Christian Concern (ICC), a member of the Allied Democratic Forces conducted the suicide bombing at 7:00 p.m. of Saturday, December 24. The Allied Democratic Forces is an Islamist terror group known to have already killed hundreds of Christians and have displaced thousands this year from Congo's Nord-Kivu province alone.
The incident has been confirmed by ICC's local contact in Beni, a northern city of Nord-Kivu province. The contact said the attack targeted Christians following events that happened early this year.
"This is an action of terror. It points clearly to the heinous atrocities that the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) have been committing in Nord-Kivu and Ituri provinces. Today's attack was unexpected because we are used to hearing incidences of Christians being killed in the villages," Beni said.
"The last time we had such terror attacks in this town of Beni was in May and June, where the attackers also planted bombs in churches, but that was stopped by the government forces. In June, one woman was killed and others injured when a bomb planted inside a church's compound exploded. Another bomb had been trapped at a bar that killed several revelers," he added.
Africa News said that the official toll of the incident was not given by Beni City's Colonel Narcisse Muteba. But General Ekenge Sylvain, the governor's spokesman, revealed in an official statement that the suicide bomber detonated the bomb outside the restaurant.
"The suicide bomber, prevented by security guards from entering a crowded bar, activated the bomb at the entrance of the bar," Sylvain said.
Africa News disclosed that more than thirty people were celebrating Christmas in the In Box restaurant that night. The bomb caused glasses, bottles, chairs, and tables to scatter on what was left of the restaurant, along with at least three bodies spotted after the explosion.
Witnesses said a motorbike passed by followed by the deafening noise of the explosion. Police carried the wounded to the nearby medical center as soon as they arrived. One of the survivors, Rachel Magali, told The Associated Press, that she heard a loud noise followed by seeing black smoke before she tried to escape the restaurant. Magali recalled the "horrible" scene that she saw when she reached the exit.
"Suddenly we saw black smoke surrounding the bar and people started to cry. We rushed to the exit where I saw people lying down. There were green plastic chairs scattered everywhere and I also saw heads and arms no longer attached. It was really horrible," Magali recalled.
Last June, an ADF suicide bomber walked in a Catholic church and wounded two women a day after a bomb blew up a service station with no casualties. Yet the ADF has placed North Kivu and Ituri under a "state of siege" a month earlier. The local military have taken emergency measures against the armed militia but have not fully stopped its constant attacks against the said provinces. The Congo government then initiated a joint operation with the Ugandan government to put an end to the ADF attacks, which also spread to Uganda.
In line with Saturday's bombing, the Congo government placed new security checkpoints and implemented an evening curfew on Sunday. Col. Muteba also warned on the need for vigilance in public places in anticipation of the ADF striking again.
"We are asking people to be vigilant and to avoid public places during this festive period," Muteba said.
Reacting to the incident, the Anglican Bishop of Beni Diocese called the terror attack a "cowardice activity carried out by weak rebels who want to make followers of their faith by force."
"Today, churches met as usual to begin the Christmas holiday...but now things have taken a new turn. However, we shall not let fear diminish the joy of Christ in this season, and we shall stand in prayer with the families of those killed today," the bishop said.
