Seventy Christians Martyred in the DRC
On the weekend of February 15, seventy bodies were found beheaded in a church building in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The massacre was carried out by suspected militants from the extremist group Allied Democratic Forces. Open Doors partners have been able to confirm that all seventy individuals were Christian members of the community.
Field sources say that in the early hours of February 13, ADF carried out a series of mass kidnappings in the predominantly Christian community of Mayba, eastern DRC.
“The militants went door by door saying, ‘get out, get out and don’t make any noise’. 20 Christian men and women came out and they tied them up for an unknown destination. This happened at around 4am on Thursday”, said an elder in Matuna, situated some 40km from Mayba.
Sources report that the village population gathered to consider next steps and how to free those who had been kidnapped. Unfortunately, during this gathering – the evening of Thursday, February 13 – the militants returned and surrounded the village. They captured and bound fifty more Christians, totaling seventy captives.
The captives were all taken to a Protestant church in Kasanga where they were executed.
A local source says that the churches, schools, and much of the rest of the community had shut their doors because of the chaotic security situation. Many people fled to other villages.
This horrific situation comes in the midst of rising instability in the DRC, with increased activity from rebel groups creating an uncertain political situation. Extremist groups like the ADF will often take advantage of such instability to target vulnerable populations, such as Christians.
"We don't know what to do or how to pray; we've had enough of massacres. May God's will alone be done."
Pray
“We don’t know what to do or how to pray; we’ve had enough of massacres. May God’s will alone be done”, said a church elder.
The Bible promises that when we do not have the words to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with “groanings too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26). We are also promised in Psalm 34 that “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in Spirit.”
As your persecuted family reels from the terrors of this massacre, will you join in grieving and prayer for them?
- Pray that God will miraculously comfort those who have lost loved ones.
- Pray for the strengthening of the faith of Christians living in areas threatened by the ADF.
- Pray for insecurity in the east of the DRC, that the Lord’s intervention will stop the attacks and calm the situation
- Let us pray for the ADF, that the Lord will bring them to repentance and into relationship with Him. If they harden their hearts towards God, pray that He will confuse their plans.
