At least 72 Christians have been killed in a new wave of Islamist violence in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to Christian aid organization Barnabas Aid.
The organization says the latest deaths bring the number of Christians killed in Ituri Province since mid-July to more than 200.
Among the deadliest incidents came on August 28, when fighters from Islamic State Central Africa Province, also associated with the Allied Democratic Forces or ADF, attacked the villages of Mabakoa and Biam near Biakto.
Barnabas Aid reports that 29 Christians were killed and around 40 houses were burned as hundreds of residents fled.
The violence continued the following day.
On August 29, militants reportedly captured and beheaded nine Christians in Amani village and killed another two people outside the community.
Barnabas Aid says ISCAP has been responsible for the deaths of more than 1,370 Christians in northeastern Congo since December 2024, with most of those killings occurring in Ituri and neighboring North Kivu.
The region has endured years of violence involving IS-linked militants, the M23 rebel movement and numerous other armed groups, leaving civilians caught in an extraordinary humanitarian crisis.
The conflict is now overlapping with another emergency.
Ituri is the epicenter of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s current Ebola outbreak, further threatening communities already weakened by insecurity and displacement.
United Nations reporting indicates that Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo — provinces affected by the outbreak — together host around 4.4 million internally displaced people.
For Christian communities in Ituri, the crisis has therefore become one of violence, disease and repeated displacement.
Churches and Christian aid organizations continue to call for prayer, humanitarian assistance and greater international attention to civilians facing persistent attacks.
As families mourn those killed and survivors flee their homes, Christians around the world are being asked to remember the persecuted Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
May God comfort those who mourn, protect those in danger and bring peace to this deeply wounded region.
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