ISIS Claims Responsibility for Deadly Attack on Christians in DRC

ISIS Claims Responsibility for Deadly Attack on Christians in DRC
ISIS has publicly taken responsibility for a deadly assault in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Masala area of Beni, which resulted in the tragic loss of over 60 Christians. In a statement released on their Telegram channel, the terrorist group reported that the attack in eastern Congo also claimed the life of a Congolese army officer.
This recent surge of violence in the DRC, especially in its eastern territories, has seen an escalation in Islamist militant activities. Another recent incident involves the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an ISIS-affiliated militia, which killed at least 14 Catholics in the town of Eringeti using machetes and rifles. Reports suggest that many victims, described as “very young,” were targeted after refusing conversion to Islam.
The Vatican’s L’Osservatore Romano newspaper and Pope Francis have both addressed the massacre, with the Pope condemning the killings and recognizing the martyrdom of the victims from North Kivu.
This pattern of targeted attacks against Christians has been highlighted by another tragic event on May 13 in the village of Ndimbo, Ituri Province, where at least 11 Christians were killed. The incident also involved kidnappings and the burning of homes.
Survivors and international observers have expressed their despair over the ongoing violence in eastern Congo, a region embroiled in conflict for more than three decades. Competing for control over the area’s rich mineral resources, over 100 armed groups and foreign armies have contributed to a crisis that has resulted in approximately six million deaths since 1996. The conflict has also displaced 6.1 million people internally and forced nearly a million to seek refuge in neighboring countries.