Over 70 bodies were found in a church in a village in Lubero of the Democratic Republic of Congo after a suspected Islamic attack according to the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need [1] (ACN).
On 12 February, rebels from an Islamist terrorist group, originally from Uganda, entered the village of Maiba and took approximately 100 people hostage.
Three days later, 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 ACN’s source.
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.”