"The ongoing violence is endangering our province," declare 76 priests of the Diocese of Bunia in a statement issued on August 20. Bunia is the capital of Ituri, a province in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, plagued by violence perpetrated by various armed groups and under a state of siege since May 2021 (together with the neighbouring province of North Kivu, see Fides, 7/5/2021).

Despite the far-reaching powers granted to the military, acts of violence and murders against civilians continue to occur, affecting even Catholic communities. Most recently, on the night of August 19-20, 2025, vandalism and violence occurred at the "Propédéutique Saint Kizito" oratory in Bunia. Armed men opened the tabernacle, threw the hosts to the ground, smashed the windows, and threatened the priests present. The attack occurred "despite the strong presence of law enforcement officers in the neighborhood," the statement reads.

The most serious incidents were the attack by CODECO militias on July 21 against the "Saint Jean de Capistran" parish in Lopa (see July 23, 2025) and the bloody attack by ADF Islamists on the night of July 26-27 against the parish of Blessed Anuarite in Komanda, in which nearly 50 people were killed and at least 40 young people were kidnapped (see Fides July 28, 2025).

"The crisis has spread to Nizi, Iga Barrière, Tchomia, Nyamamamba, and Boga, leading to massive population movements in search of safe and secure places," reads the statement. The diocesan priests criticize the ineffectiveness of the security forces, "often justified by minimizing and trivializing the situation with terms like provocation and retaliation to conceal their incompetence and complicity, and to portray local youth as the cause of insecurity," which they describe as "unacceptable."

Even worse, according to the diocesan clergy of Bunia, "the law enforcement agencies, together with the militiamen, commit murders, set up illegal roadblocks, make arbitrary arrests, even of minors, and loot the property of innocent citizens."

In their statement, the priests of the Diocese of Bunia also denounce "slander and verbal threats" against the Church by the military authorities governing Ituri. According to the statement, the authorities accuse the Church of "harboring" members of the "Convention pour la Révolution Populaire" (CRP) militia. The priests reject these accusations, stating: "It is evident that the Catholic Church, because of its prophetic mission, has become, among many others, the target of orchestrated attacks by the military, which has declared a state of emergency and is acting in criminal complicity with CODECO."

This coalition of militias is responsible, for example, for the attack on the "Saint Jean de Capistran" parish in Lopa, which was carried out with the assistance of soldiers from the regular armed forces. According to the priests, the state of siege has "visibly and seriously failed to impose peace, which was its primary and essential task. On the contrary, the armed groups have not only multiplied but also increased in numbers and weapons." (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 22/8/2025)