More than 70 bodies, including women, children and the elderly, were discovered on February 14 in a church of the Evangelical and Baptist Center of Congo and Africa (CEBCEA) in Kasanga, near the village of Maiba, in the Lubero area, in the province of North Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The 70 Christians were first rounded up by Islamist rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces, a group affiliated with the terror group Islamic State, or ISIS,
The Christians, reportedly all from the Lubero district, were forced out of their homes allegedly early in the morning of Feb. 13, with the rebels shouting, “Get out, get out.”
They were taken hostage, and moved to a small Christian church in the village of Kasanga. There, inside the building that had until then been considered a sanctuary, they were first tied up, and then all 70 were beheaded.
It is suspected that Islamists of the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces), a group originally from Uganda that has been active for decades in the east of the DRC, especially in North Kivu, committed the massacre.
The Ugandan army has increased its presence in the Congolese provinces of Ituri and North Kivu in recent days, officially to act against the ADF, but perhaps also to control the offensive of the M23 and the Rwandan army in the Congolese provinces of North and South Kivu.
Sources report that local Islamist militants wouldn’t let Christian leaders bury the dead for some five days.
Open Doors U.S. reports that 95% of people living in the DRC are Christian. Yet the Islamist ADF, analysts say, are bent on turning this community in the troubled North East of the country into an Islamic Caliphate, forcing this majority-Christian community to follow extreme Muslim practices.
“The violence takes place in a context of impunity, where almost no one is held accountable,” John Samuel, Open Doors legal expert for sub-Saharan Africa, stated. “This massacre is a clear indicator of widespread human rights violations against civilians and vulnerable communities, often targeting Christians, perpetrated by ADF – a(n) Islamic State affiliate.”
Tristan Azbej, Hungary’s State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians posted on X, “Horrified to learn about the 70 Christian martyrs beheaded by terrorists in a church . . . . Hungary stands in solidarity with the persecuted Christians . . . the world needs to recognize and act against Christian persecution.”
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