Islamist massacres against Christians in Africa are becoming more and more common, with the latest outrage occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
At least 64 people were killed on 8 September when militants believed to be from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked Ntoyo village, in Saint Joseph of Maguredjipa parish, North Kivu.
Despite the name, the ADF is in fact aligned with ISIS, billing itself as the local branch of the international Jihadist group.
Local sources, speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), said that the attackers set fire to homes and killed their victims with guns and hammers. Many of those killed were attending a wake.
Sadly this is not the first such attack in the DRC. In mid-August a wave of ADF attacks claimed the lives of 52 Christians, also in North Kivu. Some 43 Christians were killed a prayer vigil in July and at the beginning of the year 70 Christians were found beheaded in a Protestant church.
Bishop Melchisédech Sikuli Paluko of Butembo-Ben, told ACN, “To all the families affected by this umpteenth and horrible carnage … and to all the faithful of the parish, we express our spiritual closeness.
“May God, the Master of Life, strengthen us through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, consoler of the afflicted, and lead us beyond the desert of present-day suffering to lasting peace.”
Bishop Paluko’s comments about the regularity of anti-Christian massacres echoes those of Bishop Wilfred Anagbe from Nigeria, the country which has seen more Christians killed in recent years than any other.
Earlier this year Bishop Anagbe told the British House of Lords that parts of the country had become so bad that massacres during Christian festivals like Christmas had become “customary”.
Despite a huge Christian population, Nigeria currently is ranked by Open Doors as the 7th worst country for anti-Christian persecution due to the severity of Islamist violence in parts of the country.
The DRC is ranked 35th on the list, but has risen six places from last year, due to the increase in Islamist violence.
