According to a March report on the DRC from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, attacks by the ADF such as the April 1 incident in Bafwakoa have escalated in the majority-Christian, resource-rich nation.

Photo of North Kivu and Ituri Provinces courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

“Congo has unfortunately been in this perpetual spiral of instabilities for decades,” says Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations. “And you know, the last five years in particular, they see an opportunity, and so they’re trying to move into these areas, which are heavily Christian areas.”

The DRC’s situation is not the same as Nigeria’s. In Nigeria, there is a sharper divide between Muslims and Christians within the country’s north. But in the DRC, that element of antagonism is less prevalent. 

“More of the commonality that the DRC and Nigeria have is the instability, and so it’s opportunities for them to really establish a Muslim beachhead,” says Kelley. “[In northern Nigeria,] it’s had the Boko Haram activity, the Fulani herdsmen. They’re literally trying to eradicate Christianity in the north.”

But Kelley notes that in the DRC, the ADF isn’t targeting only Christians. 

“These are just kind of almost generic brutalities, killing, raiding villages, trying to take ground, trying to get people to just pack up their bags and move on so they can control territory,” Kelley says, “because again, this is some of the wealthiest real estate, not just in Congo, not just in Africa, but in the world.”

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Photo courtesy of Johnnathan Tshibangu via Unsplash)

Yet statistically speaking, believers do endure the brunt of ADF attacks. That’s because 95 percent of the DRC’s population identifies as Christian, according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom report. Recent attacks on Christians took place in March and February. There are likely more that have not made it to mainstream media. But the big picture trend is clear: According to a report from International Christian Concern, the ADF claims that it has killed more than 700 Christians since December 2024. 

“It’s spiritual warfare, attacking God’s people in a place where the gospel, in the midst of all the instability, has grown tremendously. It’s a real success story,” says Kelley.

Ask God to raise up more Christians to serve as gospel workers in the DRC.

“It’s not the first place that a missionary is going to want to go. But missionaries are being mobilized in the Congo right now,” says Kelley. 

“We have a training center near Kinshasa that’s mobilizing missionaries to go into French-speaking areas. But when you see these kinds of things happening [attacks on Christian communities], they’ll be able to divert resources and go into that area. So pray for training efforts.”

Header photo: Portrait of a Taabwa Catholic priest at the historic mission in the city of Moba, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Photo courtesy of IMB)

Islamic State affiliates Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) reportedly kidnapped these believers during two raids in a Christian village in mid-February. Then, the terrorists took the kidnapped believers to a church, where they slaughtered them.

According to Open Doors, some families have not been able to bury their dead because of insecurity.

Editor’s note: It has come to our attention that the story of the murders of 70 Christians did not happen, however the context remains accurate.

MNN is guided by a newsroom policy that strives to report our stories as accurately as possible.   We cross-check information with multiple sources to verify our research.

That said, if a report proves to be inaccurate, we will correct it and state why it has been altered. If relevant new information emerges, we will update or do a follow-up story. 

Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations says, “There are over 100 different rebel groups that are active in eastern Congo, including these radical Islamic State-based entities that are doing some of the most horrific acts against Christians.”

Illia Djadi, Senior Analyst for Freedom of Religion or Belief in sub-Saharan Africa for Open Doors, says ADF wants to wipe out Christianity in DRC. “Their interests are twofold,” Kelley adds.

“They are taking natural resources out, but [also spreading] a jihadist form of Islam in this part of Congo.”

DRC is full of natural resources that could fund terrorist endeavors.

“They’re (terrorists) hopeful that Christians will just scurry out of these areas, and they’ll ultimately take it over. The extraction of all these people makes it easier for them to take the gold, cobalt, and diamonds,” Kelley explains.

Audio Bibles distributed by Unknown Nations give hope to displaced communities.
(Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)

Pray for peace between people groups. Kelley says attacks like these can spark tribal tension, which can then escalate into ethnic war.

“It goes way beyond the country of Congo, the country of Uganda, the country of Rwanda. It’s all rooted in people group animosity, one against another,” Kelley says.

Additionally, pray the Lord can help believers forgive Islamists who target and attack their communities. Pray mature Christian leaders can instill the principles of love and forgiveness in new believers.

“When you haven’t established maturity and discipleship, there’s retaliation, and when there’s retaliation, it just perpetuates a [bad] situation,” Kelley says.

“Jesus called us to be disciples, not converts. When we have a bunch of converts running around, a lot of bad things can still happen, and the enemy can take advantage of that because there’s a lot of immaturity.”

Header image is a screenshot courtesy of Prayercast.

Based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the jihadists frequently target Christians in the eastern region. ADF terrorists killed 72 believers during two weeks in March and 80 Christians over ten days in April.

The Islamic canon inspires the terrorists’ brutality.

“I [recently] discussed [this persecution] with an imam, and he said, ‘We have steps before we kill Christian.’ If [a Christian] repents, changes his faith, and becomes a Muslim, it’s fine. If not, they (Muslims) have all this authority from their god to kill that Christian,” Voice of the Martyrs Canada’s VP of International Ministry and Operations Riadh Jaballah says.

“When they kill Christians, it’s part [of their] doctrine.”

IS celebrated killing “over 100 Christians” in March.
(Photo, caption courtesy VOM Canada/al-Naba)

Militants formed ADF in 1995 to overthrow the Ugandan government. Partnering with the Islamic State gave ADF the funds necessary to grow. It gave the Islamic State a foothold in Central Africa.

“Islamic State started many years ago in the Middle East and North Africa. These terrorists jump from one area to another, creating terrorism and hatred [in the name of] Islam,” Jaballah says.

“It’s like a virus; we find them everywhere.”

Voice of the Martyrs Canada collaborates with partners in the DRC to offer hope through theology of persecution courses.

“I teach the course in Arabic and French and have another colleague [who teaches] in English,” Jaballah says.

“We’re not scared about persecution; it’s part of our faith. We need to face the situation and be witnesses to the persecutor.”

Pray persecuted Christians will hold fast to their faith and trust in the Lord.

“The voice of truth is the voice of God. It doesn’t matter if the persecutor succeeds in silencing [Christians] through intimidation or killing; God is here,” Jaballah says.

Header and story images courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs Canada.

Many of these attacks are carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamist rebel group. In addition to murdering villagers, attackers often loot and torch homes.

Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs says, “There are multiple reports when they go into a village of them singling out Christians for death [and] allowing Muslims not to be killed or even to go free.

“So there is an element to this that is very much Christian persecution and Christians being targeted as they try to create an Islamic caliphate and a place where Sharia law is followed.”

Representative photo of Congolese village. (Photo courtesy of Kudra_Abdulaziz via Pixabay)

In total over the last two weeks, 72 Christians have been killed in eastern DRC. Thousands of refugees are displaced or fleeing to neighboring Uganda and Tanzania.

These attacks are having their desired effect. The Church in eastern DRC is dwindling.

Nettleton says, “In the area where this attack just happened, there is one denomination that before the violence broke out this denomination had 25 churches in this area. Today they have eight. Another denomination before the violence had 54 churches. Now they have 11.”

Yet, the story isn’t over. God is still at work in DRC, and the persecuted Church needs our support and prayers!

“Those brothers and sisters are a part of our family, and if a part of our family is suffering, of course, we should care. We should care very much about that.”

Nettleton says, “I think one of the ways we can pray is for the government response to this…. ADF is active on both sides of the border. The DRC government and the Ugandan government have tried to cooperate to get more stability, to get more control and more peace in this region. We can pray for those efforts to be effective.”

For persecuted Christians, Nettleton asks, “Pray for a sense of God’s presence with them even as they go through major suffering and these kinds of attacks. Pray that their faith will remain strong.”

Header photo courtesy of Imani Bahati via Unsplash.

Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says, “On Sunday morning, during a worship celebration (in fact, there were 60 new baptisms at this church congregation that morning), a bomb went off in the service.”

Extremists

The DRC military blamed a rebel group affiliated with the Islamic State. Nettleton says their goal is to set up a caliphate in the region, forcing everyone to live by their definition of sharia law. “The ADF forces will come into a village, gather people together, and ask, ‘Are you a Christian? Are you a Muslim?’ Oftentimes, the Christians are killed. Sometimes they are kidnapped. They are urged to convert to Islam.”

Nettleton expects to see more attacks against Christians in the eastern DRC. Islamic extremism is making inroads across Africa, working its way South.

Ask God to strengthen local Christians. Nettleton says, “After we pray, I think the thing that I would encourage people to do is just pay attention. Oftentimes, Africa seems 10,000 miles away, and it doesn’t get the media coverage that it deserves. An attack like this can happen and almost just go by without us even noticing.”

“Pay attention throughout this year and watch for attacks like this.”

If people in the eastern parts of the DRC do become Christians, they often face backlash from their communities. Nettleton says, “Once they reject Islam and choose to follow Christ, their job prospects disappear. Their school prospects disappear. There is an aspect of assisting people with life in addition to discipling them as followers of Christ.”

(Header photo courtesy of David Peterson from Pixabay)

Officials blame the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, for this week’s violence.

It’s the latest in a disturbing upward trend. Armed groups have killed more than a thousand civilians in eastern DR Congo since late 2019. “In 2021, we’ve seen mass attacks by these Muslim extremists,” Voice of the Martyrs Canada’s Greg Musselman says.

There are more than 100 armed groups operating in DR Congo. Not all of them are Islamic, but Musselman says those that are have one goal in mind:

“These radical Islamic groups – even though they may have lost some of their control in places like Iraq and Syria – they’re doing whatever they can to cause destruction.”

He points to the rising prevalence of Islamic extremism in countries like Nigeria and Burkina Faso as an example. “We’re seeing that ‘taking root’ in West Africa. Now in a country like the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a large majority of people claim to be Christian, [we’re seeing] all this violence,” Musselman says.

DRC’s 2021 civilian death toll includes over 100 believers so far. “They are targeted because they’re Christians and it’s a desperate situation for them. These are people who lost their families; whole families were killed,” Musselman says.

Ask God to move powerfully in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Pray for believers’ protection and safety.

“We pray and we ask God to protect them, and we believe that He can. Part of my work with the Voice of the Martyrs is seeing how God has protected believers,” Musselman says.

“It does get a little bit discouraging at times [but] let’s not lose hope. God is ultimately in control and there’s eternity at stake here. That’s why we continue to spread the Gospel; our time on earth is very short.”

In the header image, a member of FIB stands in the bush near the front line in the Beni region where the UN is backing the FARDC in an operation against ADF militia, the 13th of March 2014. © MONUSCO/Sylvain Liechti (Wikimedia Commons)