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Suspected Islamists Kill ‘21 Christians’ In Eastern Congo (Worthy News Investigation)
by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (Worthy News) – At least 21 civilians, believed to be Christians, died when suspected Islamists attacked two villages in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local sources said.
Fighters of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group linked to Islamic State (ISIS), reportedly targeted the villages of Mabakuha and Amani in Ituri province’s Mambasa territory, burning a church, health facility and several homes.
The violence killed at least 10 people in Mabakuha, while 11 bodies were recovered in Amani following the August 28-29 attacks, said Peresi Muhindo, a local coordinator of the New Congolese Civil Society (NSCC), a network of civic organizations.
“In addition to the loss of lives, several infrastructures have been destroyed,” Muhindo told reporters. “A hospital, a church and several residential houses were burned during these attacks.”
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES TARGETED
Local human rights group Protection Plus said attackers reportedly slit the throats of seven civilians in Amani. U.N.-run Radio Okapi and other local sources also reported seven deaths there but did not specify how the victims were killed. Worthy News was not immediately able to verify the circumstances of the killings independently.
The violence also forced residents to flee parts of Mambasa territory, where ADF fighters have repeatedly targeted civilian communities, many of them Christians, Worthy News learned.
Originally formed in neighboring Uganda, the ADF has operated for years in the forested regions of eastern Congo and pledged allegiance to Islamic State, which incorporated the militants into its Central Africa operations.
Christian advocacy group Open Doors says the ADF deliberately targets Christian communities as part of an Islamist extremist campaign aimed at eroding the Christian presence in areas where the militants operate.
CONVERT OR RISK DEATH
Militants have reportedly demanded that Christians in eastern Congo convert to Islam, pay a religious levy or risk being killed. Churches, Christian leaders and converts from Islam have faced attacks and intimidation.
Additionally, the wider conflict is fueled by armed groups competing for territory, control of mineral-rich areas and political influence, and ADF violence has affected non-Christian communities as well, observers say.
United Nations experts said in a July report that the ADF maintained ideological ties and communications with Islamic State while carrying out systematic and large-scale attacks against civilians.
Investigators documented killings, abductions and sexual violence, particularly affecting women and children.
MORE THAN 1,000 KILLED
The ADF allegedly killed more than 1,000 civilians in Congo in 2025 and remains among the most dangerous armed groups operating in the country’s conflict-torn east, according to U.N. experts.
Christian organizations have documented an escalation in violence against predominantly Christian communities in eastern Congo.
Barnabas Aid said last month that Islamic State-linked militants had claimed responsibility for killing at least 130 Christians in Ituri province within three weeks, including dozens in Mambasa territory.
The Christian aid group estimated that ADF militants killed more than 1,300 Christians in northeastern Congo since December 2024.
PERSECUTION RANKING RISES
The Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 29th on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List of 50 countries where Christians reportedly face the most severe persecution, rising six places from 35th a year earlier.
Open Doors attributes the worsening situation largely to violence in eastern Congo, citing massacres, abductions and attacks on churches, alongside armed conflict, organized crime and weak state protection.
The organization estimates that about 104.1 million people in Congo identify as Christians, representing 95.5 percent of the country’s roughly 109 million inhabitants.
Despite Christianity’s dominant presence, believers in the country’s troubled east remain particularly vulnerable as Islamist militants continue operating in areas where government security remains limited.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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