Attacks on communities in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to devastate Christians. Open Doors’ local partners share that a spate of attacks between 4 and 7 June claimed the lives of at least 80 Christians in the North Kivu province.
At 8 a.m. on June 04, armed extremists killed 16 Christians, 10 male and 6 female, in North Kivu province. They then set fire to eight houses, and several people have been reported missing following the incident.
These attacks continue despite the “Cheng Gong” operation that’s underway in the Beni territory. Cheng Gong is jointly led by the UN peacekeeping forces in the country and the joint forces of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces with the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A church leader in Mangina told Open Doors’ local contacts that there was a general atmosphere of fear following this attack.
“The ADF killed more than 50 Christians and burnt them to death in their plank houses. Vehicles that carried dead bodies did not have space, and others were left in their burnt houses,” Reverend Kambale Aristote of the CECA20 Church, shared with local Open Doors’ partners.
The victims have been identified as members of local churches who were working on their farms. The ADF killed them with machetes, guns, and burnt others in their shelters.
According to Pastor Aristote, more than 80 Christians have died in these recent attacks.
Christians, Please Intercede in Prayer
In a statement on 10 June 2024, the Congolese government expressed its compassion for the injured and assured them of its determination to accompany the families in the process of burying the victims and ensuring the care of the wounded in inadequate structures.
“Really, it is prayer, nothing but prayer. We have understood that the objective of the ADF is to convert everyone into a Muslim and this is a persecution of a great level. We ask all Christians to continue to intercede for us,” said Reverend Aristote.
Jo Newhouse*, Open Doors’ Field spokesperson for the work in Sub-Saharan Africa shares, “The rate at which the ADF continue to attack Christian communities in eastern DRC is horrifying. Christians are forced to flee and some churches in the affected villages have closed as a result of the latest attacks. These unabated attacks come at a time when Christian farmers were preparing for harvest. The impact is that many families are without means to feed their families, and the unprepared displacement has put pressure on the livelihood of Christian families now on the move to unknown destinations. We call on the international community to do everything in its power to ensure the Government of DRC faithfully and transparently protects all affected communities and that the displaced receive the support they need in these circumstances.”
Pray for Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Pray for the strength and faith of Christians who have lost loved ones and are now internally displaced, that the Lord’s mighty hand will be their shield and that He will comfort and provide for them.
- Pray for emotional healing for all Christians that have been impacted by recent attacks in eastern DRC.
- Pray for the faith and the growth of the Church amidst the chaos, that God mighty in battle will protect His house and His works will prevail.
*Names changed for security purposes.
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