In a devastating turn of events, over 100 Christians have been brutally murdered in coordinated attacks by Islamist militants in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Most of the victims were attending a wake when the attacks unfolded on Monday night.
The assaults were carried out by fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) – a rebel group linked to ISIS - who targeted the villages of Ntoyo and Potodu in North Kivu province.
Witnesses described scenes of devastation, with bodies left scattered on roads, in homes, and around the Catholic wake.
According to church leader Rev Mbula Samaki, of the 55e CEBCE church Mangurejipa, at least 70 people were massacred in Ntoyo alone, many with machetes, while others were shot as they attempted to flee.
Rev Samaki, who survived the attack, reported that the attackers also burned homes, motorbikes, and vehicles, and abducted scores of residents.
“They arrived and started killing. They murdered coldly murdered 26 Christians,” Rev Samaki told an Open Doors’ local partner. “God still has a mission for me; this incident happened when I had just passed through Ntoyo.”
Mangurejipa parish priest Abbé Paluku Nzalamingi, who visited the site, said the scale of violence was overwhelming. Speaking to local news site Actualite.cd, he said: “It's horrible what I saw. They killed almost all the people gathered at the place of mourning.
“Women on mattresses in the living room … others in the corridor, still others outside in the plot.
“In any case, many had been shot dead. Some bodies are on the road, in plots close to the centre of Ntoyo. I was unable to count them, but I can say that there are at least 70 people. Most of them were shot dead.”
The violence did not stop there. On Tuesday morning, militants carried out a fresh assault in nearby Potodu, ambushing Christian farmers who were staying overnight in their fields and killing them with machetes, according to Pastor Nzalamingi’s account to Open Doors.
“It is a night of sadness and desolation for Christians,” Pastor Paluku told Open Doors. “May God come to our rescue because we are fed up with these killings in the Beni territory.”
The massacre marks the third wave of mass killings in the region in the last several weeks.
In August more than 50 civilians, including women and children, were slain in similar assaults across one weekend in North Kivu.
Similarly, in July, at least 49 worshippers were murdered during an overnight prayer meeting in Komanda, Ituri province.
Human rights groups fear many more attacks have gone unreported in remote areas.
Thousands of families have fled the violence, seeking refuge in larger towns such as Oicha, where churches are now sheltering displaced survivors.
Rev Alili shared the experience of his church in Njiapanda with Open Doors: “They are not willing to sleep in the church for fear of being attacked like those who were killed in a wake. Last month it was still massacre after massacre, and in September, Lord, please come to our aid.”
The spokesperson for Open Doors in sub-Saharan Africa, Jo Newhouse, condemned the killings: “It is unacceptable that these civilian attacks continue with impunity.
“Open Doors strongly condemns these ongoing acts of violence against civilians and call upon civil societies, governments and international organisations to prioritise civilian protection in eastern DRC where armed groups, such as the ADF, are operating.”
The ongoing attacks are believed to be retaliation for the losses the rebel group ADF sustained to Congolese troops during the first months of the year.
