Democratic Republic of the Congo (MNN) — After 30 years of conflict, it’s no surprise that peace talks in the DRC would have multiple layers.
On one front is the DRC and neighboring Rwanda. They signed a peace deal in June but have missed next-step deadlines to implement it. Last week, representatives of both nations met again in Washington, D.C., to work toward on-the-ground peace.
On another front is the rebel group M23, only one of more than 100 militant groups in eastern DRC. M23 and the DRC government signed a declaration toward peace in July, but this deal has also stalled. Both sides accuse the other of violating the agreement. On October 14, the government and M23 agreed to establish an international oversight committee as another step toward peace.
“They have signed paper, and they have made a lot of statement which brought hope for the people living there, but so far, nothing tangible has changed,” says lllia Djadi, who serves with Open Doors International as the senior analyst for freedom of religion and belief in Africa.
There is another layer of the DRC’s decades of conflict that we must not forget: Islamic extremism.
“There’s one armed group called ADF, the Allied Democratic Forces. The ADF is a radical Islamic group with a clear affiliation with Islamic State. So when we consider the ongoing violence in DRC, we need to pay attention on this particular group,” says Djadi.
He notes that sub-Saharan Africa has become the new epicenter of terrorism.
“What Daesh [ISIS] try to do in Middle East, that’s the same project. That’s what they [ADF] want to achieve: to set up a caliphate, to rule that state by Islamic law, by Sharia law,” Djadi says.
“They [ADF] are using the same modus operandi. They are sharing the same ideology. They are targeting particularly Christians, bombing churches, attacking Christian communities mainly in rural areas.”
One attack on September 8th saw at least 70 Christians killed and dozens kidnapped in one village. (More on these attacks here.) It’s not the only ADF incident either.
“It has been going on for months now in eastern DRC. Why? Because the ongoing military activity and all the focus was on M23. Even the [ceasefire] agreement is only about M23 and the military forces in DRC,” says Djadi.
“But we are saying, ‘Pay attention. This [peace with M23] is not enough to bring peace in eastern DRC. We need to consider the activity of Islamic State there.’”
Learn more about the challenges in the DRC and what Christians there face. Pray for peace, says Djadi.
“Let’s pray for this Church to be resilient, to stand in the midst of this violence and violent persecution, how to continue to minister, how to continue to go to church without any fear of being attacked or bombed,” he says.
Header image of DRC flag courtesy of Pixabay.
