Thirty-five Christians have been killed by Islamists in another week of violence in Ituri Province, north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Terrorists from the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) raided the village of Mamuku on July 20, beheading 15 Christians and burning down 30 homes. On the same day, ISCAP fighters captured and killed another 10 in the village of Soma, burning down 20 homes.
Four days later, a further 10 “Christian combatants” were beheaded in an attack on the village of Lukaya.
Islamic State (IS – also known as ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) propaganda uses the term “combatants” to describe Christians and Jews who have not either converted to Islam or paid jizya tax as a sign of their subservience to Islamic rule.
“Christians now groan under the blows of the Islamic State, from eastern Congo and Mozambique all the way to eastern Nigeria,” declared the editorial in a May 2026 issue of Al-Naba, the weekly IS newsletter.
“This then is a call to every Christian in Africa. Embrace Islam, and you shall be safe. If you refuse, pay the jizya in humility, and you shall be safe. But if you refuse even that, then blame only yourself; for this is your choice, and this is our creed.”
At Least 1,210 D. R. Congo Christians Killed by Islamic State
ISCAP (also known by its former name of ADF) has slaughtered at least 1,210 Christians in north-eastern DRC since December 2024.
Almost all of these killings have taken place in Ituri and the neighboring province of North Kivi.
Earlier this month, 12 believers were killed in separate attacks across North Kivu’s Beni Territory.
The government of North Kivu has been based in the city of Beni for more than a year after the M23 Movement, another armed group, captured the provincial capital of Goma.
Additionally, Ituri is the epicenter of the ongoing Ebola outbreak.
On Sunday, July 26, it was announced that 1,405 people in DRC have died from Ebola. Nearly 90% of the country’s 3,200 cases are in Ituri.
How You Can Pray
Continue to pray that the faith of our brothers and sisters in D. R. Congo will remain firm, despite the pressures and hardships that they face. Intercede especially for those recently bereaved by the ongoing violent persecution. Call upon the Lord to rise up in anger and decree justice (Psalm 7:6).
