2/21/2025 DRC (International Christian Concern) — Recent weeks have brought a wave of concerning news from central Africa’s Democratic Republic of the Congo.
There, terrorist forces are sweeping through large tracts of land and seizing cities in a lightning offensive that has rapidly shifted the frontlines of a decades-long conflict that has killed about 6 million people and displaced many more.
This week, local sources revealed the massacre of 70 Christians in DRC’s eastern Lubero Territory near the country’s border with Uganda and Rwanda. While no group has formally taken responsibility for the attack, reports indicate that the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were responsible.
Members of the militia reportedly detained many Christian villagers before tying them up in a local protestant church and decapitating them with machetes.
Responding to ADF attacks in January that left 15 dead, pastors in North Kivu province told International Christian Concern (ICC) that the violence often targets Christians and has decimated churches.
“We are no longer talking about simple violence,” one pastor said. “We are losing fellow innocent Christians time and again. Our churches are now remaining empty…. the people of the Lord are suffering, and it’s just not bearable to watch.”
The ADF is one of many African terrorist organizations aligned with the jihadist Islamic State movement. It stands out among the country’s 120 militant groups for its brutal tactics and explicit animosity toward Christianity.
Another militant group, known as M23, is backed by neighboring Rwanda and has taken over multiple cities since January, including Goma, a major regional hub and the capital of North Kivu province.
In response, the U.S. sanctioned a Rwandan government official and another individual associated with M23 in the DRC. Though Rwanda denies supporting M23, years of mounting evidence have proved that Rwanda is deeply involved in supporting the group’s activities.
U.N. peacekeepers in the country are working to protect hundreds of thousands of displaced persons but have experienced increasing difficulty in executing their mission in recent weeks because of rebel advances.
In recent years, the U.N. mission has become increasingly unpopular with Congolese government leaders. In December 2023, the U.N. Security Council approved the withdrawal after Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi requested a fast-tracked withdrawal some months earlier.
The U.N. mission, known as MONUSCO, began to withdraw from the country in February 2024. MONUSCO had worked in the country for more than 13 years and, before the drawdown, boasted nearly 18,000 personnel, including about 14,000 armed troops. Recent terrorist victories seem to be partially a result of the power vacuum left by the forced U.N. withdrawal.
The first phase of withdrawal was focused on bases in South Kivu province, with U.N. troops leaving Ituri and North Kivu province, where the violence is concentrated, later in 2024.
To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email [email protected].
