Congo-Kinshasa (MNN) — Seventy Christians were recently found beheaded in a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Islamic State affiliates Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) reportedly kidnapped these believers during two raids in a Christian village in mid-February. Then, the terrorists took the kidnapped believers to a church, where they slaughtered them.
According to Open Doors, some families have not been able to bury their dead because of insecurity. Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations says, “There are over 100 different rebel groups that are active in eastern Congo, including these radical Islamic State-based entities that are doing some of the most horrific acts against Christians.”
Illia Djadi, Senior Analyst for Freedom of Religion or Belief in sub-Saharan Africa for Open Doors, says ADF wants to wipe out Christianity in DRC. “Their interests are twofold,” Kelley adds.
“They are taking natural resources out, but [also spreading] a jihadist form of Islam in this part of Congo.”
DRC is full of natural resources that could fund terrorist endeavors.
“They’re (terrorists) hopeful that Christians will just scurry out of these areas, and they’ll ultimately take it over. The extraction of all these people makes it easier for them to take the gold, cobalt, and diamonds,” Kelley explains.
Audio Bibles distributed by Unknown Nations give hope to displaced communities.
(Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)
Pray for peace between people groups. Kelley says attacks like these can spark tribal tension, which can then escalate into ethnic war.
“It goes way beyond the country of Congo, the country of Uganda, the country of Rwanda. It’s all rooted in people group animosity, one against another,” Kelley says.
Additionally, pray the Lord can help believers forgive Islamists who target and attack their communities. Pray mature Christian leaders can instill the principles of love and forgiveness in new believers.
“When you haven’t established maturity and discipleship, there’s retaliation, and when there’s retaliation, it just perpetuates a [bad] situation,” Kelley says.
“Jesus called us to be disciples, not converts. When we have a bunch of converts running around, a lot of bad things can still happen, and the enemy can take advantage of that because there’s a lot of immaturity.”
Header image is a screenshot courtesy of Prayercast.
