(The Lion) — At least 18 people have been beheaded and many others killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by Islamist militants over the past month.
The Middle East Media Research Institute reports at least 18 Christians were beheaded in the DRC and another two in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. The Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) claimed responsibility for the attacks.
“It was a week of terror and much suffering. Parents and their children had to flee to safer places,” Bishop Vera told Aid to the Church in Need.
Alongside the killings, reports detail widespread destruction, including at least 20 homes burned, entire Christian villages attacked, and civilians kidnapped, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
“Thousands of families are suffering and trying to escape the terrorists. The situation is very confusing, and in some places most of the houses were burned, and people have been killed,” Bishop Vera added.
Violent extremist attacks are tragically nothing new for the region. In Mozambique alone, more than one million civilians in Cabo Delgado have been displaced and over 4,500 killed since 2017, according to Aid to the Church in Need.
Despite relentless persecution, Christians in the region continue to cling to hope and request prayer.
“Pray a lot for us, because this is an incomprehensible, intolerable reality,” said Bishop Vera.
“We ask God to help us and grant us peace. We also ask the Mozambican government for the means to fight terrorists not only militarily, but also with dialogue and international assistance,” the Bishop concluded.
The attacks come amid escalating Islamist violence in Nigeria, where Christian communities continue to face massacres, kidnappings and village burnings at the hands of extremist militias.
The spike in brutality and persecution of Christians across the DRC, Mozambique and Nigeria highlight what many advocates warn is a rapidly expanding campaign of terror against Christians throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
