Roman Catholic and Protestant religious leaders in the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Sunday warned their congregations against a ”spirit of division and tribalism”.
”We call on all believers take measures through prayer not to slip into the spirit of division and tribalism but to advance in the [spirit of] welcome and mutual acceptance,” the priest at the Holy Spirit church in Goma said.
There have been persistent reports that neighbouring Rwanda has sent its soldiers across the border to deal with Hutu extremist rebels in the DRC.
The message replaced the traditional sermon and was read in all the churches in Goma, the main town in North Kivu province and close to the border with Rwanda.
The government in Kigali has been dominated by the Tutsi minority since current President Paul Kagame defeated and ousted extremist Hutu Rwandan troops and militias who carried out genocide in Rwanda in 1994. – Sapa-AFP