ISIS claims credit for terror attack in Congo

An Ebola worker in Beni. New York Times/Reuters.

ISIS has taken credit for a terror attack targeting soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. New York Times. Eight soldiers were killed in the attack which was initially blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel group that has killed hundreds of people. However, a new affiliate of ISIS, called the Central African Province of the Caliphate, has taken credit for the attack. The attack occurred near the Ugandan border right in the middle of a devastating Ebola outbreak. The response to the Ebola crisis has already been complicated due to the violence between the government and the ADF. 

My Comment:

The last thing the Democratic Republic of Congo needs is an ISIS affiliate causing trouble. They are already facing a rebellion from the Allied Democratic Forces and a major outbreak of Ebola. Plus they are a third world country with many other serious problems. Having ISIS attacking their soldiers is not going to help things. 

There are worries that ISIS could try regrouping after losing their strongholds in Syria and Iraq. Central Africa is disordered enough that they could try getting a foothold there. The problem with that idea is that most of the fighters in Syria and Iraq are either dead, captured or underground, with very few ways to escape to Central Africa. 

Thankfully, this attack was fairly minor, barely a skirmish compared to the battles between the government and the ADF. ISIS isn't a major faction in Congo and even if they grow they won't be the biggest problem that Congo faces right now. It's obviously a bad thing that ISIS has come to the Congo but it's pretty low on the list of problems for the country. 

This attack may further complicate the efforts to stop the Ebola outbreak in the Congo. They have already had massive problems getting people vaccinated and treated. There are the typical dysfunctions that are common in Africa where people don't trust health workers and have their own superstitions. 

But health workers may have to pull out if ISIS starts making further attacks. They have already been attacked by the SDF, which makes contract tracing and isolation much more difficult. Ebola workers already have to deal with the obvious danger of working with the disease. Facing violence from the rebels or, even worse, ISIS, is making an already dangerous situation even worse. 

I do have to say that there is an obvious parallel between ISIS and Ebola. Both of them were huge news stories a few years ago but now they have faded into the background. Both of them are still a major threat that the news media is largely ignoring. And both of them could come back into the news in a major way if the problem in the Congo isn't dealt with...