70 Christians found beheaded in the DRC

Officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo late last week found the bodies of the believers in an abandoned church in the northeast village of Kasanga. Militants from the Allied Democratic Forces kidnapped the Christians last Thursday, according to the Christian organization OpenDoors. The ADF militants operate along the DRC-Uganda border and have ties to the so-called Islamic State terrorist group. The group has repeatedly attacked Christians, United Nations peacekeeping forces, and aid workers, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The massacre last week was not an isolated incident, International Christian Concern President Jeff King said in a released statement. Islamist terrorists have been targeting Christians for decades. King called for prayer. He also suggested an all-Africa military force could intervene in the DRC to restore order. A local Christian school director told OpenDoors that many churches, schools, and health centers had closed because of increasing violence and hostility.

Have there been other attacks recently? In addition to those martyred last week, Islamist militants have killed at least 89 other believers in different incidents this month, according to Barnabas Aid. Meanwhile, three Christian aid workers from Switzerland earlier this month died in an attack in the North Kivu region. The eastern regions of the DRC have seen a major escalation in violence this year after Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 seized control of the city of Goma. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the region and millions face food insecurity.

Dig deeper: Read Onize Oduah’s report about the escalating border war.