Violence rages in DR Congo after Pope visit

Ending violence was a dominant theme of the pope’s visit to Africa’s largest Catholic country, arriving on Tuesday and due to depart for South Sudan on Friday.

Dozens of armed groups have plagued eastern DRC for decades, many of them a legacy of regional wars that flared up in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Since late 2021, the M23 rebel group has also seized parts of territory in the turbulent region, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.

During a huge open-air mass in the capital Kinshasa, which organizers say attracted a million people, Francis urged the faithful not to give in to division.

The 86-year-old later met victims of the conflict, who told of the horrors of mutilation and rape. He condemned the “inhuman violence” and called for mercy from God.

“May he convert the hearts of those who commit brutal atrocities, which bring shame to all mankind,” Francis said.

The message was well received by believers, many of whom said they had hoped the pope’s visit would lead to peace.

Theoneste Bahati Gakuru, 34, a human rights activist in the eastern city of Goma, said he thought the papal trip had drawn much-needed attention to the violence.

He added that the international community must now “take action to stop this catastrophic situation”.

Kathungu Matumaini, a nurse in the eastern city of Beni, said: “We are innocent, we know nothing about politics”. She asked that her “tears and prayers be answered.”

Fighting between the M23 and state forces continued during the Pope’s visit, while attacks by other armed groups also claimed the lives of civilians in the east.

(“Your tears are my tears” –

Pope Francis said to the victims of the conflict in Kinshasa on Wednesday: “your tears are my tears”.

On the same day, gunmen believed to be members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed seven people in a village in the Irumu area of ​​eastern Ituri province.

The ADF, which the Islamic State group claims is its Central African subsidiary, is one of the deadliest armed groups operating in eastern Congo.

It has been accused of massacring thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out bomb attacks in Uganda.

Jean-Marie Ndjaza, a spokesman for the Lendu community in Ituri, said the pope’s message to reject tribalism and violence should be heeded.

“We must avoid causing more casualties,” he said.

Other inhabitants of the east also draw support from the pope’s words.

Paulin Mulume, 30, said Francis had breathed hope into the hearts of the victims.

“The pope will be their ambassador,” said the activist in the South Kivu city of Bukavu.

However, violence in the area remains routine. This week, the decapitated body of a five-year-old boy – the suspected victim of a ritual murder – was discovered in the province.

AFP