six people have died in a suicide bomb attack on a crowded restaurant
CONGO: At least six people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a crowded restaurant in the eastern city of Beni, according to officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The bomber was stopped by police from entering the building, but he blew himself up at the entrance, killing himself and five others.
In addition, 13 people were injured. Officials blamed the attack on Saturday on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militant group said to be affiliated with the so-called Islamic State (IS).No group has claimed responsibility for the attack as of yet.
According to two witnesses, more than 30 people were celebrating Christmas at the In Box restaurant when the bomb went off. Children and local officials were said to be present at the time.
“I was sitting there,” local radio presenter Nicolas Ekila told AFP. “There was a motorbike parked there. Suddenly the motorbike took off, then there was a deafening noise.”
Following the explosion, the military officer in charge of the country’s east advised residents to return home for their own safety. In recent weeks, there have been numerous clashes in Beni between the army and Islamists.
In November, Congolese and Ugandan forces launched a joint operation against the ADF in an attempt to put an end to a string of atrocities. Ugandan authorities say the group is responsible for a string of recent attacks in the country, including one in the capital, Kampala.
The militant group was formed in the 1990s by Ugandans who were dissatisfied with the government’s treatment of Muslims, but it was routed from western Uganda, and its remnants fled across the border to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It established itself in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and has been blamed for thousands of civilian deaths there over the last decade, including attacks on Christians. In March, the United States added the ADF to its list of terror organizations linked to the Islamic State. IS, for its part, claims that the ADF is an affiliate.
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