The director of Caritas in Congo was shot and killed by an armed militant group while approaching a roadblock, Caritas Internationalis announced.
In a statement published on social media Sept. 23, Caritas International said it was “shocked by the news of the death of our colleague, Dieudonné Barondezi, director of the Caritas branch in Kalonge, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
“Dieudonné was shot in the head on Sept. 19 at a roadblock, in the village of Cholobero, by members of an armed group who demanded he pay the toll, even though, as a humanitarian, he was not obliged to do so,” the Catholic charitable organization said. Barondezi was taken to a hospital following the shooting, where he was declared dead. “Let us pray for him, his family, and all humanitarians worldwide who lose their lives to help others,” Caritas said.
Barondezi’s death is the latest in a string of violent attacks targeting humanitarian aid workers in the country, where armed rebel groups continue to fight against Congolese forces for control of gold and other resources.
According to a July report by The Associated Press, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Congo called for the protection of aid workers in the region where some 170 security incidents targeting humanitarian workers were reported.