Global Silence as Jihadist Massacre Christians Across Africa

In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Islamic State-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) fighters attacked a funeral wake in the village commonly rendered as Ntoyo/Nyoto late on September 8–9, 2025, killing at least 71 civilians; a separate ADF assault in Beni territory the next day brought the combined death toll to 89. Authorities and witnesses described machete killings after mourners were forced together, with survivors later recounting the carnage. The ADF formally pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2019 and has intensified raids on Christian communities in North Kivu and Ituri despite joint Congo-Uganda operations.

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What happened in Ntoyo

Local and international reporting converges on the wake as the primary target, consistent with ADF’s recent pattern of striking civilian Christian gatherings. Early counts ranged from “60+” to 71 killed at the wake alone, with the higher figure of 89 reflecting two attacks over consecutive days in North Kivu. Church leaders and residents describe the massacre as part of a sustained ADF campaign that has repeatedly hit parishes, markets, and roads used by Christian communities. While the rhetoric is jihadist, analysts also note the group exploits security vacuums created by Congo’s multi-front war.

Wider regional pattern

June 13–14 saw one of Nigeria’s deadliest recent atrocities in Yelewata, Benue State, where gunmen—frequently described by officials and rights groups as Fulani militias—killed at least 100 civilians, with several credible estimates placing the toll closer to 200; thousands fled. The Benue attack fits years of Middle Belt violence disproportionately impacting rural Christian communities, alongside Boko Haram/ISWAP activity in the Lake Chad Basin. Across Africa, fatalities linked to militant Islamist groups in the year to June 2025 totaled about 22,300—near record levels and roughly 60% higher than the early-2020s baseline—driven by hotspots in the Sahel, Lake Chad, Somalia, and eastern DRC. Recent incidents also include ISIS-linked beheadings and mass displacement in Mozambique’s north.

Context & security response

Targets frequently include clergy: on September 19, 2025, Father Matthew Eya was shot dead in Enugu State, underscoring how priests and pastors have faced abductions and killings amid broader anti-Christian violence. Nigerian and Congolese authorities announced crackdowns after major massacres, but fragmented insurgent cells and overstretched militaries have limited results, leaving rural Christians especially exposed. The combination of ideological jihad, weak local security, and impunity helps explain recurrent mass killings even after headline-grabbing deployments. There is a clear, sustained, cross-country pattern of Islamist violence in which Christians are repeatedly among the primary civilian victims across Africa, yet the UN and most world leaders have offered little beyond words, leaving believers to face the violence alone.