(LifeSiteNews) — Islamic militants continue to ruthlessly massacre Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A report by the Telegraph summarized the most recent brutal attacks by Islamist militant groups against mostly Christian victims.
In early September 2025, a massacre occurred in the village of Ntoyo in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which are allied with the Islamic State, disguised themselves as civilians to mingle among the crowd before suddenly starting a killing spree by opening fire and hacking at Christian with axes and machetes.
A woman described how ADF fighters broke into her house and kidnapped her four daughters, and another said he witnessed his sister being killed with an ax.
At least 60 people were killed in the Ntoyo massacre, which was one of many such attacks. According to the Telegraph, “The ADF has killed, kidnapped and tortured across swathes of eastern DRC.”
Congolese military forces have reportedly been overstretched and unable to deal with the ADF’s attacks because of advances by the Rwanda-backed March 23 movement (M23) in the region that have bound many of their resources.
Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard said, “Civilians in the eastern DRC have suffered extensive brutality at the hands of ADF fighters. They have been killed, abducted and tortured in a dehumanizing campaign of abuse.”
The ADF was formed in Uganda in the 1990s but was routed by the Ugandan army and its remnants fled across the border to the DRC. The group swore allegiance to the Islamic State in 2018.
Rawya Rageh, Amnesty International’s crisis response researcher, said, “The vast majority of the ADF’s victims have been Christians, given the demographic composition in the area of its operations.
“That said, the group’s statements and claims of responsibility do make specific references to Christians being targeted, and the ADF’s leaders have stressed the permissibility of killing them,” she continued.
“The group has also abducted and killed Muslims who do not espouse their version of their religion.”
In November 2025, the ADF attacked a health center in the village of Byambwe, slaughtering at least 17 people and setting four hospital wards on fire.
The attacks by the Islamic militants continue to this day, with the DRC army apparently being unable to defend civilians reportedly due to the advances made by M23 that ADF fighters have exploited.
As LifeSiteNews reported, the Congolese Catholic bishops have criticized the lack of response after an Islamic terrorist attack last year.
“This umpteenth massacre has occurred in one of the provinces that has been under a state of siege for several years. … In these provinces, we are witnessing murders and kidnappings,” the National Bishops’ Conference of Congo (CENCO) declared after an attack on a Catholic church that killed more than 43 in July 2025. The bishops added that “no credible explanation has been offered to reassure the population” and called for a “thorough and satisfactory investigation into the tragedy.”