ISIS Slaughter in Congo: Christians Hunted, Villages Burn

Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has once again descended into horror.

In a matter of days, armed militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an ISIS-affiliated rebel group, unleashed a wave of massacres across villages in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, killing dozens of civilians — most of them Christians — in attacks marked by extraordinary brutality.

The deadliest assault struck the town of Biakato in Ituri’s Mambasa territory on May 7. According to local officials and humanitarian groups, ADF fighters entered the area in broad daylight disguised as Congolese soldiers before turning on residents without warning.

At least 20 to 26 people were killed. Several victims were reportedly beheaded with machetes. In the days that followed, more bodies continued to be discovered in nearby forests and burned-out homes.

“In our village, it is no longer water that flows, but blood,” one local community leader said, describing the terror gripping the region.

Just three days later, on May 10, militants struck again in Makumo under the cover of darkness. At least nine civilians were killed, dozens of homes were set ablaze, and hundreds fled into the surrounding wilderness carrying whatever belongings they could save.

The attacks are part of an escalating campaign of violence that has terrorized eastern Congo for years. Since early May alone, ADF fighters have killed scores of civilians along the volatile borderlands between Ituri and North Kivu. Human rights monitors estimate that hundreds have died in Ituri since the start of 2026.

Entire communities are now living in permanent fear.

Families sleep in forests to avoid nighttime raids. Farms have been abandoned. Hunger is spreading as displaced residents lose access to crops and supply routes.

The violence drew swift condemnation from Washington. Massad Boulos, senior adviser for Africa at the U.S. State Department, denounced what he called “brutal ISIS attacks in the DRC” targeting Christian communities and pledged continued American support for regional peace efforts in the Great Lakes.

A newly released Amnesty International report has intensified scrutiny over the crisis. The organization accused the ADF of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, citing evidence of mass killings, kidnappings, forced labor involving children, and widespread sexual violence.

Amnesty also criticized Congolese authorities and Ugandan forces conducting joint military operations in the region, arguing that they have failed to protect civilians despite years of offensives against the group.

Originally founded in Uganda during the 1990s, the ADF has evolved into one of Central Africa’s deadliest extremist organizations. In recent years, the group formally aligned itself with ISIS and expanded its campaign of terror across eastern Congo. The United States designated the ADF a foreign terrorist organization in 2021.

For residents of Biakato and Makumo, however, geopolitical statements offer little comfort.

“We do not know what tonight will bring,” one survivor said quietly.

And once again, the world is being reminded that in eastern Congo, the shadow of ISIS has never truly disappeared.

(Sources: International Christian Concern/persecution.org, Xinhua, AFP, Anadolu Agency, Amnesty International, Reuters)