DRC: Priests kidnapped amid ongoing political crisis July 16

Event

Unidentified assailants kidnapped two Catholic priests and stole their cars and motorbikes in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on the night of Sunday, July 16, at approximately 22:00 (local time). The abductions occurred near the city of Butembo in Beni, North Kivu province. Maï-Maï militants are believed to be responsible for the kidnappings. 

The Congolese episcopate (CENCO) has condemned this kidnapping. Meanwhile, it continues to oversee and support the strenuous implementation of a co-governance agreement signed in December 2016. On Sunday, July 9, the President of the Electoral Commission of RDC announced that elections, initially set to take place in 2016, would have to be pushed back to 2018 due to significant security concerns in certain areas of the country.

Context

This is not the first time that the Catholic Church has been a target of such attacks in the region. Five priests, whose whereabouts remain unknown, were kidnapped in 2012 and both a priest and a nun were murdered in 2016.
Kidnapping is a significant threat in the eastern regions of the DRC. There have been a growing number of attacks against mine workers and NGOs operating in the country, caused by the state’s limited presence in the eastern provinces and the presence of numerous armed groups and local self-defense militias (Maï-Maï militias).

Advice

Due to these and other security concerns, many Western governments advise their citizens against all travel to the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu (particularly outside the cities of Goma and Bukavu), as well as the northeast portion of Eastern province and the northern part of Katanga due to the presence of armed groups. Certain governments also advise against nonessential travel to the rest of the country.