Morning Star News is reporting that nine Christians have been slaughtered by Muslim militants dressed as army soldiers in the Congo:
Uniformed men suspected of belonging to the Muslim Defense International (MDI) Islamist militant group have killed five women and four men near a predominantly Christian town in the Democratic Republic of Congo, two months after a massacre in the same area.
Armed with guns and machetes, the suspected militants from the Uganda-based group on July 5 attacked three Christian communities near the town of Oicha in eastern Congo, killing the nine people including a church elder, according to U.K.-based aid organization Barnabas Fund. The assailants also looted homes and stole livestock, Barnabas Fund reported.
Here’s more from World Watch Monitor:
Local sources contacted by World Watch Monitor said the assailants stormed the Tenambo, Nzanza and Mamiki communities, near an army base on the outskirts of the town of Oicha, between 4am and 6am. Armed with guns and machetes, they looted homes, taking food and cattle as plunder. The incident was confirmed by security forces and the Administrator of Beni territory, Bernard Amisi Kalonda, who said the death toll may climb higher as searches for victims continue.
The area is nearly 96 percent Christian, and the impact of the violence has been immense. A pastor in the area affected by the 5 July attack told World Watch Monitor that all the victims, including an elder from his church and five women, were Christians.
The attack provoked panic; many fled the area and sought refuge in safer areas of Oicha. A local activist said security forces did not heed the warnings of an imminent attack, after leaflets were distributed in Beni and the surrounding area.
“The authorities should have taken some steps to counter the enemy,” Teddy Kataliko told local media. “Today, they penetrated the centre of the capital of the Beni territory, and created desolation. We believe it’s time we take action all around Oicha and Beni to avoid even worse.”
The three communities attacked by rebels were only 200 metres from an army position, and about three kilometres from a UN base. Despite persistent gunfire and calls for help, no-one intervened, local sources said.
Another unnamed activist told local media that some people thought they were under attack by the military. “They were wearing full uniform with Arab scarves around their necks and red bands around their heads,” the activist said. “The army always asks the population to collaborate, but when they do, nothing is happening.”
Unfortunately this is far too common down there:
Eastern DRC has been beset by deadly violence, with 1,116 killed between October 2014 and May 2016, according to local NGOs. Another 1,470 people have been abducted, they say, while more than 34,000 families have been forcibly displaced. There have also been numerous cases of sexual violence against women and children.
The church is under fierce attack all over the world, as was demonstrated by this morning’s beheading of a Christian priest in France by ISIS Muslim as well as this attack that occurred earlier this month.