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The Democratic Republic of Congo is in shock after Islamic militants beheaded 70 Christians in a brutal church massacre.

Seventy Christians have been found beheaded inside a Protestant church in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the latest atrocity in a region plagued by decades of violence.

Taken hostage days earlier, the victims were executed in the town of Kasanga, Lubero Territory, in what appears to be a targeted attack against Christians. The radical Islamist group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) is suspected of carrying out the massacre.

Open Doors reports:

According to field sources, at around 4am last Thursday (13 February) suspected militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) — a group with ties to so-called Islamic State (IS) — approached homes in Mayba in the territory of Lubero, saying: “Get out, get out and don’t make any noise.” Twenty Christian men and women came out and were captured.

Shaken by this incident, people from the local community in Mayba later gathered to work out how to release those held captive. However, ADF militants surrounded the village and captured a further 50 believers.

All 70 of those kidnapped were taken to a Protestant church in Kasanga where they were tragically killed.

Horrific.

70 Christians were brutally beheaded by an Islamist group inside a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Where’s the media outrage?

Pray for persecuted Christians 🙏

— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) February 20, 2025

Pan-African news agency Agence de Presse Africaine reported that the ADF and other local armed groups have “maintained a climate of terror in the region for several months.”

According to Open Doors, even prior to the massacre, “churches, schools and health centres had all shut their doors because of the chaotic security situation”.

In the week since, many Christians have fled the area for their safety, and families of the victims remain unable to bury their loved ones due to ongoing security threats.

A History of Bloodshed in the DRC

The tragic events in Kasanga are part of a larger crisis that has seen millions suffer. In a statement to The Christian Post, Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern (ICC), explained:

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. The vast majority of the DRC’s residents are Christian, so this is a religious genocide carried out by radical Islamic terrorists.

Since 2014, ADF attacks have intensified, with hundreds killed in recent months alone. In January, over 200 individuals were reportedly killed in Baswagha chiefdom.

Open Doors placed the attack in context:

This explains why DRC rose six places to number 35 in the latest World Watch List. Last year, 355 were killed for their faith, compared with 261 the previous year, whilst an estimated 10,000 were internally displaced, which is ten times more than 2023. Houses have been looted and burnt, schools relocated, churches and health facilities closed, and several Christian villages have been abandoned altogether.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, spanning approximately 2.34 million square kilometres, is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th largest in the world.

Seventy Christians were found beheaded in a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

They were reportedly hostages of the Islamist group ADF— an ISIS affiliate

Why isn’t the MSM covering this story?? pic.twitter.com/57P6fDc2fF

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 20, 2025

A Call for Immediate Action

With 7 million people internally displaced within the DRC — the highest number in the world — calls for intervention are growing.

John Samuel, legal expert for Open Doors in sub-Saharan Africa, stressed, “Open Doors strongly condemns this heinous act of violence against civilians and calls upon civil societies, governments and international organisations to prioritise civilian protection in eastern DRC where armed groups, such as the ADF, are operating.”

King echoed the urgency: “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.”

An elder of the Evangelical Community in Central Africa was quoted by Newsweek as saying: “We don’t know what to do or how to pray. There have been too many massacres. May God’s will be done.”

John Samuel, Open Doors’ legal expert for sub-Saharan Africa, has urged the international Christian community to “remain in prayer for Christians and vulnerable communities in eastern DRC”.

Christians are the most persecuted religious group globally. Every day, an average of 13 followers of Jesus are put to death for their faith. Christians face persecution in around three-quarters of the world’s nations, and a full 80% of all religious discrimination is directed against them, though they make up just 33% of the world’s population.

The Bible calls believers to support the persecuted — including to “remember those in prison as if you were together with them” (Hebrews 13:3), “rescue the weak and needy” (Psalm 82:4), and “do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:10).

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.