Two Congolese pastors were among seven Christians killed in attacks by an Islamist militant group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this month.
Six Christians, including Rev Kausa Kaule Yosua and his daughter, 27-year-old Masika, were killed in the attacks on November 10 and 11 by members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) on two villages near Beni, in the northeast of the central-African country, according to World Watch Monitor (WWM).
A local source told WWM they also kidnapped 13 people, adults and children. Among them was another pastor, Rev Josias Kapanga Katembo, whose body was later found in the forest, bringing the death toll to seven.
In the first attack, on the village of Mayimoya, militants raided the church compound and nearby homes of Christians. A church leader said: 'At about 10pm they [the militants] got into the pastor's house and attacked his daughter with machetes. When she started screaming for help, her father came out to see what was happening and to rescue her. They shot him dead, and then shot her dead too. One of his grandchildren remains missing.'
A survivor said: 'From my window I could hear the attackers discussing that the area where they operate belongs to the Muslims, and not to Christians, and that every Christian found in it is an enemy."'
In the attack three children between eight and 13 were also killed.
Seven Christians, including four children and three men, are still missing after they were reportedly forced by ADF members to carry away the things they looted from Mayimoya.
On the following day, Pastor Josias Kapanga Katembo, 44, was kidnapped from the village of Boyikene with two of his four children and three other Christians belonging to his church.
Twelve houses and a vehicle were set on fire by the attackers, who entered the village in military uniform.
Pastor Katembo's wife Rebecca, 34, was also killed when she tried to flee as militants set fire to her home. The whereabouts of their other four children is still unknown.
The violence has caused civilians to flee the area. A spokesperson for a local Christian NGO caring for displaced people told WWM: 'The people have fled in great numbers to places like Orientale and Ituri provinces, to Butembo, and some have even crossed the border to Uganda. Please pray for God to help us.'
The Congolese army, backed by UN forces, fought the ADF group and in an offensive near the city on November 14 and 15. Seven UN-peacekeepers and 12 Congolese soldiers were killed.
The group originated in Uganda and has been blamed for more than 2,500 civilian deaths.
