Seventy Christians were discovered beheaded inside a Protestant church in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu Province, according to reports, which say the victims had been kidnapped by suspected Allied Democratic Forces terrorists.
The terrorists arrived in Mayba, a village in the territory of Lubero, at around 4 a.m. last Thursday and ordered residents to quietly get out, said Open Doors, adding that at least 20 Christian men and women had to leave their homes, leading to their capture.
Later, concerned residents gathered to plan a rescue, but the armed group is said to have surrounded the village and managed to seize 50 more believers. The abducted residents were then taken to a Protestant church in Kasanga, where they were found beheaded, said the ministry.
Families in the area could not immediately bury their relatives because of persistent security threats.
The U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern called the attack “a brutal massacre,” and said the ADF held the hostages for days before executing them.
“This recent massacre, where 70 Christians lost their lives, is not an isolated incident but part of a grim tapestry of violence that has claimed over 6 million lives in the DRC over two decades of on-and-off war,” said ICC President Jeff King in a statement provided to The Christian Post. “The vast majority of the DRC’s residents are Christian, so this is a religious genocide carried out by radical Islamic terrorists (the ADF).”
He continued, “It’s time for more than prayers; we must demand an all-African military force to intervene in this failed state, to restore order and save countless more people from becoming victims of this endless cycle of bloodshed.”
Open Doors quoted a local primary school director, speaking from Kombo school, as saying that churches and health centers in the region had already halted operations due to widespread violence. They had to relocate all their activities.
Many Christians have reportedly fled Lubero for safety. One community elder from the local CECA20 church commented, “We don’t know what to do or how to pray; we’ve had enough of massacres. May God’s will alone be done.”
The ADF, which is associated with the Islamic State terror group, has intensified assaults in northeastern Congo for several years. In 2014, the group escalated attacks in Beni territory of North Kivu province, later expanding into Irumu and Mambasa in Ituri province.
A local news outlet reported that more than 200 individuals were killed in Baswagha chiefdom last month.
DRC moved six places higher on the World Watch List, ranking 35th in the most recent evaluation. Recorded deaths for faith-related reasons rose from 261 to 355 last year, and thousands of people were internally displaced.
Houses in affected regions have been looted, churches closed and some Christian villages left abandoned. In the midst of this turmoil, the presence of M23 rebels, reportedly supported by Rwanda, has contributed to the insecurity.
Rwanda has been accused of supporting M23 in the hope of annexing some of its mineral rich territory. Rwanda, in turn, has accused DRC of supporting anti-government militias in its territory and of harboring those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Amid the exchange of blame between Rwanda and the DRC, M23 recently claimed control of the eastern Congolese city of Goma. Local Christian leaders have pledged to work toward peace and harmony among neighbors.
Meanwhile, John Samuel, Open Doors’ legal expert for sub-Saharan Africa, described the violence as taking place “in a context of impunity, where almost no one is held accountable.”
Samuel urged the international Christian community to “remain in prayer for Christians and vulnerable communities in eastern DRC” and to seek “an end to violence” while advocating “impartial” and “transparent” efforts by the government.
A previous report by the U.S. State Department noted, “The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Democratic Republic of the Congo (ISIS-DRC), known locally as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, continued to attack civilians indiscriminately in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces, on occasion targeting churches and religious leaders. The violence targeted all communities, but most victims were Christian, the religious majority.”
It is believed that there are around 7 million internally displaced people in the DRC, more than any other country in the world. Christian charity World Vision has called on the international community to do more to help child refugees in the country. Since 1998, it is believed that over 6 million people have been killed in the conflict.
Originally published by The Christian Post
