Kasanga massacre

Kasanga massacre
Part of Kivu conflict and the Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
LocationKasanga, Lubero Territory, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Date12 February 2025
TargetChristians
Deaths70
Perpetrator Islamic State

The Kasanga massacre occurred on 12 February 2025, when Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants entered the village of Mayba in Lubero Territory, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo and abducted at least 70 Christian civilians. The captives were subsequently taken to a Protestant church in Kasanga, North Kivu, where they were beheaded via machetes. Their bodies were discovered on 14 February 2025.

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) considers the reports of the massacre as "unverified", while Vatican News described the reports as "confirmed".

Background

Main articles: Allied Democratic Forces and Allied Democratic Forces insurgency

The ADF are a Ugandan Islamist group who began an insurgency in 1996. It spread to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and intensified during the 2010s. Their attacks in North Kivu include a massacre in Beni in 2016.[1] During the late 2010s, the group began to affiliate with the Islamic State.[2] In 2020, Musa Baluku proclaimed that the ADF had ceased to exist and was succeeded by the Islamic State – Central Africa Province.[3] In North Kivu, during January 2023, the ADF carried out massacres in Kasindi,[4][5] Makugwe[6] and Kirindera.[7]

In March 2023, nine people were killed and several others went missing following the armed attack carried out by ADF terrorists in the Nguli village in the Lubero territory, North Kivu.[8][9][10] In the same month, the rebels took civilians hostage in the village of Katiri in Isale Kasongwere Groupement, in the Beni Territory, North Kivu.[11][12] The insurgents also erected a stronghold in the Virunga National Park between the villages of Kavasewa and Karuruma.[11]

Attack

Abductions

At 4:00 am on 12 February 2025, armed members of the ADF entered the village of Mayba, in Lubero Territory, North Kivu, where they ordered residents to come out of their homes. They immediately took at least 20 civilians captive and left before returning at around 6:00 pm. Upon returning the ADF militants surrounded the village and rounded up an additional 50 civilians.[13][14]

Killings

Once all 70 people were abducted, they were taken to a Protestant CECA 20 church in Kasanga, a neighbouring village near Lubero in Lubero Territory, North Kivu, where they were tied up and executed by machetes.[14][15][16] The bodies were eventually discovered on 14 February 2025 still in the church.[17]

Public reaction

The attack was widely reported in both local and international media, with organizations such as Open Doors UK, a Christian evangelistic organization, claiming to be "100% confident" in the accuracy of the reports.[18][19] However, MONUSCO, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC, released a statement on 24 February 2025 stating that the reports "remain unverified." The International Committee of the Red Cross declined to confirm or deny the claims.[19] In its statement, MONUSCO acknowledged that a civil society source had reported discovering over 70 bodies, including those of women, children, and elderly individuals, inside a church building in Maiba village. The victims were allegedly bound and executed with bladed weapons by unidentified assailants. It stressed, however, that "these reports remain unverified".[19] Open Doors UK and other Christian advocacy organizations condemned the attack, citing it as an example of religious persecution in the region.[18]

Vatican News reported on 24 February 2025 that Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), an aid organization of the Catholic Church, and the Agenzia Fides news agency had confirmed the massacre.[20]

References

  1. ^ Mahamba, Fiston (24 January 2018). "Scores convicted in Congo's Beni massacre trial". Reuters. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Desolation in east DR Congo village after ADF attack". France 24. 11 March 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  3. ^ Caleb Weiss; Ryan O'Farrell (6 April 2022). "ADF renews pledge of allegiance to new Islamic State leader". Long War Journal. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  4. ^ "DR Congo government blames rebels for Kasindi church bombing". BBC News. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Several killed in DR Congo church bomb attack". Al Jazeera. 15 January 2023. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Suspected Islamists Kill 23 in East DR Congo Attack". Voice of America. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  7. ^ "Suspected Islamist militants kill 19 in another village raid in east Congo". Reuters. 13 March 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Civilians Killed in DR Congo Attacks, Fighting With M23 Rebels Flares". VOA. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  9. ^ "East Congo militants kill at least 22 in string of attacks". Reuters. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Civilians killed in eastern DR Congo amid renewed conflict in the region". The Brussels Times. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Beni : des rebelles ADF prennent des civils en otage à Katiri". Radio Okapi (in French). 18 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Insecurity Insight » Pharmacy looted and vandalised by suspected ADF militants". 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  13. ^ Ashkova, Anna (20 February 2025). "70 chrétiens retrouvés décapités dans une église en RDC". Aleteia (in French). Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  14. ^ a b Odunewu, Olusegun (20 February 2025). "Massacre in DRC: 70 Christians beheaded in brutal Church attack by suspected ADF militants". National Daily Newspaper. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  15. ^ "RDC : plus de 70 civils retrouvés décapités dans une église". APAnews (in French). 16 February 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  16. ^ Ross, Will (15 February 2025). "Conflit en RD Congo : Les rebelles du M23 entrent dans la deuxième ville du pays, Bukavu". BBC News Afrique (in French). Retrieved 20 February 2025. Dans un village plus au nord, Mayba, 70 corps ont été retrouvés dans une église, selon les médias locaux. [In a village further north, Mayba, 70 bodies were found in a church, according to local media.]
  17. ^ Hanlon, Tim; Young, Iona (14 February 2025). "Horror as 70 missing people found beheaded in church in grim DR Congo massacre". Daily Record. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Christians found killed in church in DRC". Open Doors UK. 25 February 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
  19. ^ a b c Christensen, Laerke (25 February 2025). "What we know about claims 70 Christians were beheaded in Democratic Republic of Congo". Snopes.
  20. ^ Zengarini, Lisa (24 February 2025). "ACN confirms brutal killing of 70 civilians by ADF forces in DRC - Vatican News". Vatican News. Retrieved 3 May 2025. One of the most recent and horrific incidents occurred in a village near Lubero, in North Kivu, where over 70 bodies were discovered recently inside a Protestant church, as confirmed by the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) and Fides Catholic news agency.

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