More than 10 Christians were killed Tuesday when an Islamist extremist group ambushed their three vehicles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The attack occurred near the village of Makisabo, Beni. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamist extremist group, allegedly blocked the Beni-Kasindi Road, shot all the passengers, and set the vehicles on fire, according to persecution watchdog International Christian Concern. (ICC)
Activities along the road have since been halted. ICC spoke to one of the taxi operators along this route, which is the only corridor connecting Uganda and the eastern region of the DRC.
“The 5 p.m. incident led to the death of our fellow drivers and our customers who wanted to reach home and be with their families,” the taxi operator told the ICC. “We are saddened that the ADF rebels continue to make our lives difficult here in Congo. There is no single day that they do not kill people. The villages are unsafe. The roads are unsafe. The towns are unsafe. We only live by God’s mercy. Now we cannot work because they have attacked Makisabo. We don’t know how long this will take before the road is opened again.”
Church leaders have condemned the attack, calling it an atrocity against Christians.
“We know the war situation in Congo is complex, but we cannot ignore the fact that the rebel groups are targeting Christians,” a local bishop told ICC. “We have evidence that the killers have established ties with the Islamic State (ISIS) and survivors have confessed to us that they were asked to recite the shahada if they wanted to survive. We have pastors that have been killed for refusing to deny Christ and get Islamized. We are asking for prayers and support to take care of millions of refugees, widows, and orphans.”
On June 17, while traversing the war-torn zone of Beni territory, ICC staff witnessed the aftermath of a fresh attack on travelers. They saw that a vehicle had been ambushed and set on fire along the Beni-Butembo Road. All five passengers were also killed.
“The ADF rebels had laid siege on the same road we were driving through, and we drove past the scene of the attack when the burnt bodies had been collected and the car shell was still smoking,” ICC’s representative reported. “As scary as it was, we sympathized with the residents and prayed for the affected families.”
As CBN News reported, Islamic terrorists continue to launch violent attacks against civilians in the DRC. In February of 2021, more than 100 people were murdered, and a majority of them were reportedly Christians.
The DRC is ranked 40th on the Open Doors World Watch List 2022 of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution.
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