Pope hears harrowing tales of Congo violence and says: 'Enough!'
KINSHASA (Reuters) -Pope Francis heard harrowing debts from victims of conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, which include rape, amputation, forced cannibalism and sexual slavery, and he condemned the atrocities as war crimes.
In a poignant come across on the Vatican's embassy inside the capital Kinshasa, victim after victim informed their story to the pontiff earlier than laying down gadgets symbolising their suffering, such as a machete or a dagger, before a massive timber crucifix.
They included Ladislas Kambale Kombi, sixteen, from a village in North Kivu province inside the east, who saw his father beheaded and dismembered and his mom kidnapped by military men, leaving him and more youthful sisters on my own.
"Holy Father, it's terrible to witness such a scene. It in no way leaves me. At night time, I cannot sleep. it is hard to understand such cruelty, such quasi-animal brutality," he advised the pope, earlier than laying down a machete at the crucifix.
After speaking and placing down their objects, Kombi and the opposite victims then knelt in front of the pope, who put his hand on their heads and held their fingers, every in turn, and blessed them quietly.
Emelda M'karhungulu turned into amongst numerous women who recounted their reviews of sexual violence. She stated that during 2005, then aged 16, she was kidnapped through rebels who attacked her village in South Kivu province, and took her to a forest camp where she changed into raped each day for three months by up to 10 guys.