Suicide bomber attacks bar in eastern Congo, kills 6
Highlight
- A suicide bomber attacked a restaurant, bar on Saturday as patrons gathered on Christmas Day
- Bomber kills 6 in eastern Congo city where Islamic extremists are believed to be active
- Shortly after the bomb exploded, heavy gunfire began, causing the panicked crowd to flee into the heart of the city.
A suicide bomber attacked a restaurant and bar on Saturday as patrons gathered on Christmas Day, killing at least six others in a city in eastern Congo where Islamic extremists are known to be active .
Shortly after the detonation of the bomb, heavy gunfire began, causing the panicked crowd to flee into the heart of the city.
Saturday’s attack marked the first time that a suicide bomber has killed victims in eastern Congo, where earlier this year an affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing near another bar in Beni. , in which there were no other casualties.
The latest violence only deepens fears that religious extremism has taken hold in a region already for years stricken by insurgents.
General Sylvain Akenge, spokesman for the governor of North Kivu, said security guards had prevented the attacker from entering the crowded bar and so the man detonated explosives at the entrance.
“We call upon people to remain vigilant and avoid crowded areas during the holiday season,” he said in a statement. “In the town and region of Benny, it’s hard to know who is who in these times.”
Rachel Magali was at the restaurant-bar with her sister-in-law and several others for about three hours when she heard a loud noise outside.
“All of a sudden we saw black smoke around the bar and people started crying,” she told the Associated Press. “We ran to the exit where I saw people lying down. Green plastic chairs were scattered everywhere and I noticed that the head and arms were no longer connected. It was really terrifying.”
Mayor Narcisse Muteba, who is also a police colonel, said two children were among the dead. At least 13 others were injured and taken to a local hospital.
“Investigations are underway to find the perpetrators of this terrorist attack,” he told the Associated Press.
The city has long been targeted by rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, a group that traces its origins to neighboring Uganda. But in June the Islamic State group’s Central Africa province said it was behind a suicide bomber and another explosion in a Catholic church the same day, in which two people were injured.
Despite military strikes and the presence of UN peacekeepers in Beni, residents of the city have repeatedly expressed anger at the ongoing insecurity. From 2018 to 2020, the city also suffered an Ebola epidemic that became the second deadliest in history. More than 2,200 people died in eastern Congo as vaccination efforts were thwarted several times due to insecurity in the region.
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