JOHANNESBURG – Seventy Christians have been beheaded with machetes or large knives, according to multiple groups that monitor terrorism and persecution, by Islamist militants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – and yet the world remains mostly silent.
The 70 Christians were first rounded up by Islamist rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces, a group affiliated with the terror group Islamic State, or ISIS, according Open Doors U.S., which monitors Christian persecution around the world. The Christians, reportedly all from the Lubero district, were forced out of their homes allegedly early in the morning of Feb. 13, with the rebels shouting, “Get out, get out.”
They were taken hostage, and moved to a small Christian church in the village of Kasanga. There, inside the building that had until then been considered a sanctuary, they were first tied up, and then all 70 were beheaded, the groups say.
Vianney Vitswamba, coordinator of a local community protection committee, is quoted by the Global Fight Against Terrorism Funding organization, (GFATF) as saying, “70 bodies were discovered in the church. They were (found) tied up.”
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Recent clashes in the same Lubero district where the massacre of Christians took place show members of the Congolese Red Cross carrying body bags containing human remains during a mass burial for victims of the clashes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo at Musigiko cemetery in Bukavu on Feb. 20, 2025. It is not clear from the picture whether the two events are related. The army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on February 20, 2025, urged on local airwaves the soldiers fleeing in the eastern province of North Kivu to rejoin their units and continue the fight to counter the advance of the M23 rebels. In Lubero, a town toward which the M23 is advancing, 250 km north of the provincial capital Goma, taken on January 28, terrified residents reported to AFP Congolese soldiers in disarray shooting in the town and engaging in looting. (Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images)
Sources report that local Islamist militants wouldn’t let Christian leaders bury the dead for some five days.
Open Doors U.S. reports that 95% of people living in the DRC are Christian. Yet the Islamist ADF, analysts say, are bent on turning this community in the troubled North East of the country into an Islamic Caliphate, forcing this majority-Christian community to follow extreme Muslim practices.
“The violence takes place in a context of impunity, where almost no one is held accountable,” John Samuel, Open Doors legal expert for sub-Saharan Africa, stated. “This massacre is a clear indicator of widespread human rights violations against civilians and vulnerable communities, often targeting Christians, perpetrated by ADF – a(n) Islamic State affiliate.”
Tristan Azbej, Hungary’s State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians posted on X, “Horrified to learn about the 70 Christian martyrs beheaded by terrorists in a church . . . . Hungary stands in solidarity with the persecuted Christians . . . the world needs to recognize and act against Christian persecution.”
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Open Doors UK declared in a recent statement that Christians in the DRC “face severe persecution and violence frequently from Islamist militants, the ADF, especially in the eastern region. Allied with the Islamic State group, the ADF abduct and kill Christians and attack churches, leading to widespread terror, insecurity and displacement.”
Worldwide, and particularly in Africa, Christians face increasing persecution. In a January 2025 report, Open Doors US stated that “over 380 million Christians worldwide experienced at least a “high level” of persecution and discrimination because of their faith.”
The facade of a church hit by an artillery shell following clashes is seen in Goma on Jan. 30, 2025. (Alexis Huguet/AFP via Getty Images)
Local Christians are said to be in despair. “We don’t know what to do or how to pray; we’ve had enough of massacres,” an elder of the local CECA20 church told reporters. “May God’s will alone be done.”
But despite the shocking nature of the killings, and the large number of those murdered, there has been little reported in the media. Posting on X, American political commentator Liz Wheeler wrote, “70 Christian men, women & children were beheaded . . . because they’re Christian. Their decapitated bodies were left in a church . . . because they’re Christian. The terrorists who murdered them have ties to ISIS. MSM, where’s your outrage? Are you silent . . . because they’re Christian?”
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Also in North-Eastern DRC, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are reported to have entered the region’s second-largest city of Bukavu on Friday, after taking over the major city of Goma on the Rwanda border.