In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), violence has broken out repeatedly over the last 20 years. The conflicts have involved many groups and left millions displaced and dead. But one of the deadliest organizations involved in the violence
is the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
ADF is an Islamic militant group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. As part of their violent expansionist agenda, they’ve repeatedly targeted Christians. And in the last two months, believers in the DRC have reported that the situation
has grown even more dangerous.
On May 5, the ADF raided a small agricultural community and killed two farmers in their fields. That same night, they killed Christian farmers in the communities of Manzuba, Musandwa and Wasafi. In the end, at least 24 people were dead.
According to Charité Banza, the leader of a local civil society group, the ADF continued carrying out attacks overnight on May 6, killing 25 people in the Beni territory of North Kivu; and on May 7, killing 15 in the Ituri province. At this stage, it
is unclear how many of those killed were Christians.
Reverend Paluku, a church leader in the town of Oicha, attended several burials and tells Open Doors partners about the grief he has seen yet again in the DRC. “The suffering was visible on every face,” he says. “The town was in mourning. We pray that
God heals broken hearts. They were members from the Baptist Church, Catholic, Adventist and other churches. It was painful. Let us pray that God heals the broken hearts.”
Pastor Jean-Pierre of the 8e CEPAC church in Oicha, shares: “The situation is chaotic. Farmers are dead; the Body of Christ is wounded. We ask God to strengthen His Church because nothing seems to work.”
“We are dismayed to learn of the latest ADF attacks on Christians and other vulnerable communities in eastern DRC,” says Jo Newhouse*, a spokesperson for Open Doors’ work in sub-Saharan Africa. “It is unacceptable that these attacks on civilians are allowed
to continue without any restraint. Open Doors strongly condemns these ongoing acts of violence against believers and calls upon the government and its international partners to urgently prioritize civilian protection in eastern DRC where the IS-affiliated
ADF has been allowed to wreak havoc for far too long.
“We ask the Body of Christ to keep the church in eastern DRC in prayer. Pray for God's comfort, His provision to the displaced and for his Spirit to give them strength to stand firm amidst these targeted attacks,” Newhouse adds.
‘Please, pray for the faith of the church’
It’s apparent that the attacks are severely impacting believers.
“Christians have fled toward Butembo and Beni,” Pastor Mumbere of the CECA20 church reports. “The Sunday service on May 10, 2026, was attended by only 42 believers, whereas we normally gather 136. The ADF attacks are affecting the faith of Christians
on every level. Please, pray for the faith of the church in this situation.” The attacks continued over the weekend. Radio Okapi reports that other ADF attacks on the night of May 10 and the morning of May 11 left at least 15 dead.
“Only prayer will stop the ADF.”
Reverend Bagheni
After more killings over the next few days, people began to ask for answers. “The population organized a protest march to demand that military authorities replace the soldiers stationed in the area, since they have failed to secure residents despite repeated
alerts,” Pastor Mumbere says.
ADF militants also raided and burned houses and motorcycles and also looted properties; an unconfirmed number of people have been reported missing following these attacks. There were multiple other instances of violence—but the impact has been the same.
‘Convert, pay or die’
In April, the ADF shot and killed a farmer in front of his workers for refusing to pay an imposed tax of 30,000 Congolese francs for all his workers camped in the field.
This reflects the situation that others in the DRC have shared with Open Doors partners. In November 2025, a Christian farmer spoke to local partners. ”We pay [the ADF] $10 per person and $25 per hectare,” he said. “The terrorists say Christians must choose:
convert to Islam, pay jizya (tax), or die.”
Ongoing ADF violence not only affects people’s lives but also their health and education. A civil society organization has decried the fact that about 40% of students in their final year of school were unable to be part of preliminary tests for their
state exams, scheduled for May 4, as recurrent insecurity continues to disrupt the educational system.
The continued violence also affects churches and missionary training schools, and church leaders report being overwhelmed by the repeated attacks.
“Our hearts are broken. The ADF killings are beyond us.”
Local church leader
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The situation in DRC continues to be a painful reality for so many believers. And it’s not just isolated to the DRC—around sub-Saharan Africa, millions of Christians are displaced, face violence for their faith in Jesus and live and work in places where
their Christianity puts them at risk. It’s why Open Doors started the multi-year Arise Africa campaign. And if you haven’t added your voice to break the silence and make the world pay attention,
please do so now.
But as always, the most important thing you can do is pray. Here’s how you can stand with your brothers and sisters in the eastern DRC:
- Pray for God’s comfort and healing for their grieving hearts.
- Pray for God’s intervention for the killings to stop and for peace to be restored.
- Pray that military operations against the ADF will lead to a lasting peace.
- Pray also that the members of the ADF will come to faith in Jesus and turn from their evil ways.
*Cover image: Christians gather for burial in Eastern DRC
