Over 70 bodies were found in a Protestant church in a village in Lubero, North Kivu, according to local sources contacted by the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
The killings took place between 12 and 15 February, in a village called Maiba, near Lubero, North Kivu. On 12 February, rebels from an Islamist terrorist group, originally from Uganda, entered the village and took approximately 100 people hostage, ACN’s sources say.
“On 15 February, 70 bodies were discovered inside a Protestant church. Many of them had been bound and some beheaded. Among the victims were women, children and the elderly,” said the source, which ACN decided not to identify for fear of reprisals from the many armed groups that operate in the region.
Regarding the motive of the massacre and the group’s modus operandi, the source adds: “It is likely that these victims were unable to resist or endure the forced march, because when the rebels take hostages, they make them travel with them, either as reinforcements for their group or as forced labour for the war effort. When there is loot, they need people to carry it. If you get tired on the way, you’re done. I believe that is what happened to these 70 people.”
According to the same sources, the Maiba massacre was carried out by the armed Islamist group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which operates in Uganda and in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and has terrorised the local population for over a decade.
“The Islamic groups have stepped up their attacks and raids in remote villages, killing thousands of Congolese civilians. Before they used to be in other areas, but now it is Lubero which is being attacked,” the local source told ACN.
“It is thought that the terrorists have local collaborators who facilitate their operations, and that is what is really frightening,” the source added, describing the difficult situation in which the local inhabitants live.
This massacre comes at a very delicate time for the region, given the worsening of the humanitarian situation in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, which have seen heavy fighting between another armed group, M23, which is supported by neighbouring Rwanda, and the Congolese armed forces. M23 has taken important cities and outposts in the region, such as Goma and Bukavu, with heavy fighting having been taking place since December 2024, forcing half a million North Kivu Congolese civilians to flee their homes, according to UNHCR figures.
Besides the concern over the activities of the ADF, therefore, ACN’s local source also expressed fear that over the next few days M23 will take Butembo, North Kivu’s second largest city, as it did Goma, the provincial capital, and Bukavu, capital of South Kivu, just over a week ago. “We are living through very, very difficult times. We are expecting the rebels to enter the city any moment now, as they are only 70km away from here. There is a lot of psychological suffering in Butembo, because the war is literally at our door. We have seen how other regions were overrun by chaos, and now it seems it is our turn.”
The source concludes with a call for prayers: “Let us pray. Prayer is what keeps our hope alive amidst this situation we are living through.”
By Maria Lozano.
