DRC Bishop denounces ADF rebel massacre of 18 patients in Biambwe health centre, condemns burning of facility, urges government to end impunity in North Kivu.
Newsroom (18/11/2025 Gaudium Press ) The Catholic Bishop of Butembo-Beni has issued a scathing condemnation of a deadly attack on a Church-run hospital in eastern DRC, where Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels allegedly killed more than a dozen patients and burned down the facility, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis in North Kivu Province.
In a statement released on Sunday, November 16, 2025, Bishop Melchisedec Sikuli Paluku described the incident as a “heartbreaking massacre,” confirming that at least 18 patients receiving medical care were among the victims slaughtered during a nighttime raid on the Biambwe Referral Health Centre.
“It is with deep dismay that we learned the heartbreaking news of the massacre of several people, including 18 patients who had been admitted for medical care at the Biambwe Referral Health Centre,” Bishop Paluku said. “They were victims of an incursion by individuals identified as ADF on the night of 14 November 2025, in Saint Paul Parish of Biambwe.”
The health centre, located 62 kilometres west of Butembo in the Manzya Grouping of Baswagha Chiefdom, Lubero Territory, is operated by the Congregation of the Sisters of the Presentation of Our Lady in the Temple (PBVM) of Butembo-Beni. Rebels also set the facility ablaze, destroying critical medical infrastructure that served vulnerable rural communities.
Bishop Paluku vehemently condemned both the killings and the arson, highlighting the broader fallout: mass displacement of terrified residents, the indefinite closure of schools, and a total shutdown of economic and agricultural activities. He warned of lasting psychological trauma inflicted on survivors.
The attack follows a similar atrocity on September 10, 2025, in Ntoyo, within Saint Joseph Parish of Manguredjipa, underscoring a pattern of escalating violence attributed to the ADF, an Islamist rebel group affiliated with the Islamic State that has terrorised eastern DRC for years.
Expressing solidarity with the bereaved, the bishop extended “spiritual closeness” to affected families, the faithful of Biambwe, and the wider population. He commended the souls of the deceased to divine mercy and invoked the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “Consoler of the afflicted,” praying for strength amid unrelenting grief.
In a direct challenge to Kinshasa, Bishop Paluku accused the Congolese government of chronic inaction in protecting civilians. “Given the magnitude of this tragedy, we call on the Congolese State to wake up from its slumber,” he declared. “How many deaths will it take for our State to assume its responsibility by effectively protecting its population and their property? Enough is enough!”
The massacre comes amid renewed fighting in North Kivu, where dozens of armed groups vie for control of mineral-rich territory, displacing millions and straining humanitarian resources. Church leaders in the region have repeatedly appealed for international intervention and stronger state presence, but insecurity persists despite the deployment of regional forces and a UN peacekeeping mission.
No immediate response has been issued by DRC authorities regarding the bishop’s statement or the latest attack.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from ACI Africa
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