SW News: Fr Marcelo Oliveira, a Portuguese missionary priest, has brought to light the fact that terrorists in the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are destroying opulent properties and causing residents, mostly Christians, to evacuate their villages.

The long-time priest has spoken out against the world community's indifference to the widespread bloodshed and terror that residents of areas where armed militias are active continue to experience. The Comboni priest sounded the alarm, stating that terrorists were running amok causing mayhem.

The priest from Mortágua, Diocese of Coimbra, claims that insurgents in the province of North Kivu regularly attack small settlements, prompting locals to flee into the nearby forest in fear until the militants leave. This makes it all the more easy for the insurgents to seize properties.

On January 15, he said, "It is part of this terror strategy, and this time, the attackers, who used a homemade bomb, were the self-styled Allied Democratic Forces [ADF], who chose as their target a Protestant church on a day when the temple was especially crowded with worshippers because the celebration of baptisms took place."

He stressed that the rebels' ultimate purpose was to wipe out the population by attacking crowded gatherings like celebrations and rallies, when people would panic and escape, leaving their homes and valuables behind. This time, the catastrophe occurred in a Protestant church.

In this restive region, there are roughly 120 different armed groups and militias. As a direct result of the violence and instability caused by these armed groups, the United Nations estimates that 6 million people have been forced from their homes, and hundreds of millions face a grave food crisis.

The papal trip, which will occur between January 31 and February 5, will cross the borders of two African countries, starting in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and ending in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.