Fourteen people, including a soldier and a two-year-old child, were killed in an attack by Islamic terrorists in the Irumu area in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
It is only the latest of the bloody episodes in the African country that will welcome Pope Francis tomorrow.
A visit to talk about peace and heal the wounds of a people caught between conflicts and poverty, exploitation of resources and climatic disasters.
Francis will leave tomorrow morning for Kinshasa and then he will also visit South Sudan, the youngest country in the world which, shortly after its independence in 2011, experienced a bloody civil war but is still struggling to find peace.
"Tomorrow I will leave for an apostolic journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and to the Republic of South Sudan. I affectionately greet those dear populations who await me. I ask everyone, please, to accompany this journey with prayer", Pope Francis asked with a tweet.
After the stop in Kinshasa, which begins tomorrow, the Pope will fly to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on February 3, where he will be accompanied by the primate of the Anglican Church Justin Welby and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, Ian Greenshields.
Bergoglio will return to the Vatican on Sunday 5 February.