More Than 1,300 Inmates Escape From Prison in Eastern Congo

Civilians stand outside the Kangbayi central prison in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo, October 20, 2020. REUTERS/Erikas Mwisi Kambale
Civilians stand outside the Kangbayi central prison in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo, October 20, 2020. REUTERS/Erikas Mwisi Kambale
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More Than 1,300 Inmates Escape From Prison in Eastern Congo

Civilians stand outside the Kangbayi central prison in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo, October 20, 2020. REUTERS/Erikas Mwisi Kambale
Civilians stand outside the Kangbayi central prison in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo, October 20, 2020. REUTERS/Erikas Mwisi Kambale

More than 1,300 inmates have escaped from the central prison of Beni in eastern Congo after an attack by rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces, the town's mayor said Tuesday.

Mayor Modeste Bakwanamaha said that one inmate had died in the attack on Kangbayi prison, according to The Associated Press.

"We call on the population to report any suspicious person who may be an escaped prisoner," he said.

The mayor said that 20 of the escaped prisoners had already returned, preferring incarceration to life with the rebels.

"Those who came back say that they were taken by force. They say they had to escape from their abductors, the ADF, because they did not want to live as enemies in the bush," said Bakwanamaha.

News of the Kangbayi jailbreak angered locals, who feared the mass escape could further exacerbate violence in the area.

"It is a danger to the community of Beni," said resident Sadi Amundala. "We would like our government to improve the conditions of life in prisons and also strengthen the police and military presence to prevent future escapes."

The escape comes three years after another attack on the Kangbayi prison in which about 100 inmates had fled and dozens were killed.

The Allied Democratic Forces rebel group, known as the ADF, originated in Uganda and has long been a threat in eastern Congo. The ISIS group on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the prison attack, in an announcement on its Amaq news agency. The ISIS group has recently claimed some attacks carried out by ADF rebels but the exact relationship between the two groups is not clear.



Pope Francis Calls Trump’s Plans of Mass Deportation of Immigrants a ‘Disgrace’ 

A handout picture provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Francis leading the Angelus prayer, traditional Sunday's prayer, from the window of his office overlooking Saint Peter's Square, in Vatican City, 19 January 2025. (Vatican Media Handout/EPA)
A handout picture provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Francis leading the Angelus prayer, traditional Sunday's prayer, from the window of his office overlooking Saint Peter's Square, in Vatican City, 19 January 2025. (Vatican Media Handout/EPA)
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Pope Francis Calls Trump’s Plans of Mass Deportation of Immigrants a ‘Disgrace’ 

A handout picture provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Francis leading the Angelus prayer, traditional Sunday's prayer, from the window of his office overlooking Saint Peter's Square, in Vatican City, 19 January 2025. (Vatican Media Handout/EPA)
A handout picture provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Francis leading the Angelus prayer, traditional Sunday's prayer, from the window of his office overlooking Saint Peter's Square, in Vatican City, 19 January 2025. (Vatican Media Handout/EPA)

Pope Francis said Donald Trump’s plans to impose mass deportations of immigrants would be a “disgrace,” as he weighed in on the incoming US president’s pledges nearly a decade after calling him “not Christian” for wanting to build a wall along the US-Mexican border.

History’s first Latin American pope was asked about the Trump administration pledges of deportations during an appearance Sunday night on a popular Italian talk show, Che Tempo Che Fa.

“If true, this will be a disgrace, because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing pay the bill” for the problem, Francis said. “This won’t do! This is not the way to solve things. That’s not how things are resolved.”

Trump, who is being sworn in on Monday, made mass deportations a signature issue of his campaign and has promised a raft of first-day orders to remake immigration policy.

During his first campaign for the presidency, in 2016, Francis was asked about Trump’s plans to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. Speaking after he celebrated Mass along the border, Francis famously said anyone who builds a wall to keep out migrants is “not Christian.”

Many US bishops have firmly opposed Trump’s deportation plan, with the incoming archbishop of Washington DC, Cardinal Robert McElroy, saying such policies were “incompatible with Catholic doctrine.” It was a reference to the Biblical call to “welcome the stranger.”

Another cardinal close to Francis, Chicago Cardinal Blasé Cupich, said the reports of mass deportations targeting the Chicago area “are not only profoundly disturbing but also wound us deeply.”

In a statement delivered from the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City on Sunday, Cupich said governments have the responsibility to protect borders and communities.

“But we also are committed to defending the rights of all people, and protecting their human dignity,” according to the text of his statement.

Francis, who grew up in Argentina in a family of Italian immigrants, has long prioritized the plight of migrants and called for governments to welcome, protect and integrate them, within their means. He has said the dignity and rights of migrants trump any national security concerns.