ADF Islamists Behead 70 Christians in the DRC (The Pope and Hungary)
Murad Makhmudov and Noriko Watanabe
Modern Tokyo Times
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is bedeviled by ethnic, religious, political, and regional forces (trans-border issues) that have led to millions of people fleeing internally – and further afield.
Currently, the Congo River Alliance (AFC), including the instrumental Tutsi-led M23 insurgents (backed by Rwanda), has recently entered Bukavu (the regional capital of South Kivu). This follows the fall of Goma, Masisi, and Minova in the eastern parts of the country. However, other brutal realities exist, given the plethora of different militias in the DRC.
Accordingly, Islamist forces of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) recently beheaded 70 Christians inside a church. Sadly, the international community often negates the massacre of Christians by Islamists in several nations (for example, Burkina Faso, the DRC, and Nigeria).
Open Doors reports, “According to field sources, at around 4 am last Thursday (13 February) suspected militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) – a group with ties to so-called Islamic State (IS) – approached homes in Mayba in the territory of Lubero.”
After ADF Islamists kidnapped Christians, they took them to a Protestant church and proceeded to behead them in Kasanga.
Tristan Azbej (the State Secretary for persecuted Christians in Hungary) said, “…he was horrified to learn about the incident, and emphasized that Hungary stands in solidarity with the persecuted Christians. He pointed out that the world needs to recognize and act against Christian persecution.”
Hungary Today reports, “The ADF was originally based in western Uganda but has expanded into the neighboring DRC. Since the late 1990s, the ADF has operated in the DRC’s North Kivu province near the border with Uganda.”
Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of Roman Catholics, last year said: “I appeal to national authorities and the international community to do everything possible to stop the violence and safeguard the lives of civilians.”
The Pope said Christians “are martyrs” in eastern parts of the DRC.
The Pope continued, “Painful news continues to arrive of attacks and massacres carried out in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
Lee Jay Walker (Modern Tokyo Times analyst) says, “Sadly, despite the appeal of the Pope, the massacre of Christians by ADF Islamists in the DRC continues unabated. Also, some nations, including politically correct nations, appear to brush under the carpet the endless persecution of Christians based on sensitivity.”
The latest brutal beheading of Christians by Islamists in the DRC needs urgent international attention – similar to the endless massacres of Christians in Nigeria and other parts of the world where persecution takes place year after year.
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