A suicide bomber attacked a restaurant in the eastern city of Beni in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least six people and himself. The explosion also injured 14 people, including two local officials.
Shortly after the bomb exploded, gunshots were fired with panicked crowds fleeing the town center. According to a security official in Beni, the explosion occurred at the INBOX bar where people were celebrating Christmas.
According to Mayor Narcisse Muteba, there were two children among the dead. The injured were immediately taken to the local hospital.
“For safety, I’m asking the population to stay home,” the mayor said.
“The suicide bomber, prevented by security guards from entering a crowded bar, activated the bomb at the entrance of the bar,” the regional governor’s spokesperson General Ekenge Sylvain said in a statement.
“We call on people to remain vigilant and to avoid crowded areas during the holiday season. In the city and territory of Beni, it is difficult, in these times, to know who is who,” he added.
According to two witnesses, at the time bomb exploded, more than 30 people were celebrating Christmas.
Although the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) insurgents did not claim responsibility for the attack, General Ekenge Sylvain said the ADF, aligned with Islamic State terrorist organization, had activated a “sleeper cell” in Beni to target citizens.
Beni is close to the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda and has been a frequent place of conflict between the Congolese army and the ADF insurgents.
A Ugandan general stated earlier this month that the Congo-Uganda joint operation was launched on November 30 and planned to target four ADF camps, two of which were in the Beni area.
In June, Beni was shocked by two explosions in a Catholic church and a busy intersection. Except for the suspected bomber that was killed in the second explosion, no one was killed in the two explosions.
The attack marks the latest violence in a region where Congolese and Ugandan forces have launched a campaign against suspected Islamists.
