A church elder and a worship leader were among six people killed in an attack on a rural Christian community in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
It is one of three assaults in the region, all occurring between 12 and 16 July, that have left more than 20 people dead and residents living in fear of more violence, says Open Doors, which supports persecuted Christians around the world.
An Open Doors field contact confirmed that the attack took place in the commune of Mangina, in North Kivu Province's Beni Territory, on 14 July.
Alongside the six deaths, six more people were injured, one person is missing, and two houses were burned down.
News outlets said fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked an area west of Beni city on 12 July, killing seven civilians and three soldiers from the Congolese Armed Forces. A further 10 people are reported to have died in a separate attack in Mangina on 16 July.
Pastor Nkulu, a church leader in Mangina whose name has been changed for security reasons, said he had sheltered 10 Christians in his own home after they were forced to flee their homes during the attack.
"Fear is increasing," he said, and normal church activities have also been hampered as a result of the violence.
He appealed for prayer "for the safety of the rural commune of Mangina and for the strengthening of the faith of Christians".
Eastern DRC has been blighted by violence, making it one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian - it currently ranks number 29 on Open Doors' World Watch List of the 50 worst countries for persecution and violence against Christians.
Open Doors said the ADF's presence has had "a significant emotional impact on many locals".
"These latest attacks will further heighten fear. Please pray for the region and our brothers and sisters who live there," it said.
The ADF, a militant group with links to so-called Islamic State, has been targeting communities in North Kivu and neighbouring Ituri province, where the population is overwhelmingly Christian.
A recent Amnesty International report found that the vast majority of the ADF's victims have been Christians, largely because the group operates in predominantly Christian areas.
Investigators for the human rights group spent months interviewing survivors, witnesses and officials, and concluded that many of the abuses documented amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
A propaganda video released by the Islamic State's Central Africa Province in September 2025 spoke of a fight against "crusaders".
Among the deadliest incidents recorded by investigators was a massacre at a church in Komanda that killed more than 40 worshippers.
Survivors described repeated assaults on villages, farms, health centres and even funerals, often carried out with guns, machetes, axes and hammers.
Many said they felt abandoned by security forces who arrived too late, if at all, to intervene. The report also documented sexual violence and mass abductions, including those of children who were forced into militant camps.
Former child captives said they were trained to fight and subjected to beatings and forced labour. They were also pressured to adopt Islamic practices under threat of death.
