Before dawn on Tuesday, Sept. 9, a devastating attack by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) shattered the Congolese Christian community in Ntoyo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), leaving more than 70 civilians dead.
Ntoyo, located about three miles east of Mangurujipa center, was struck while families had gathered for a wake in honor of a deceased loved one. What should have been a solemn night of mourning turned into a bloodbath.
According to local reports, the ADF fighters stormed the gathering and opened fire without warning. Women, children, and men, who only hours earlier were comforting each other in shared sorrow, were gunned down in cold blood.
“The ADF rebels targeted the village of Ntoyo early Tuesday morning,” said Kakule Shangilieni, a civil society representative in Lubero. “They brought death to almost everyone gathered at the mourning site.”
A resident, evangelist John Tumaini, who had visited the village earlier, narrowly escaped.
“My survival was a matter of chance,” he said. “I had passed through that same village earlier in the night to give my condolences. Only a few hours later, the Islamist rebel group ADF ambushed and killed many people. It could have been me.”
The violence did not end with the killings. Survivors described how the attackers, often referred to as “butchers,” torched almost everything in their path. Two trucks, four motorcycles, and numerous homes were set ablaze, plunging the community into despair. Families who had already lost loved ones were left without shelter or possessions, compounding their trauma with displacement and destitution.
Local officials dismissed rumors that the ADF had been seeking collaboration with the local population.
“In the past months, we had learned that the ADF wanted to establish some form of cohesion, a certain collaboration with the population,” said Kiwewa Mitela Alain, the military administrator of Lubero Territory. “But the population was really not in agreement with that. So, I think that what happened is not really related to that story. It’s just the ADF’s modus operandi. That’s how they operate, that’s how they act. You know, it’s a terrorist group. And like all terrorist groups, their objective is often to instill fear in order to force the population to join their movement. That’s why they behave this way. As for the collaboration with the population, that wasn’t a reality. It was their intention, but the population showed resistance.”
Alain offered his condolences to the entire population and urged them to maintain confidence in both political and administrative authorities.
“A large delegation from Beni is already on its way to Manguredjipa,” he assured. Meanwhile, Red Cross humanitarian workers spent Tuesday gathering the bodies of the victims in Ntoyo.
This massacre is not an isolated incident. In August, the village of Bandulu suffered a similar assault, also attributed to the ADF. The frequency and coordination of these attacks reveal a chilling pattern: rural Christian communities in eastern DRC are being deliberately targeted.
The tragedy in Ntoyo underscores the ongoing persecution and suffering of civilians, especially believers, across North Kivu. For many, faith is the only source of strength. Amid devastation, survivors continue to pray for peace and divine protection in a region long scarred by violence.
Rev. Samuel Kambale, a church leader in Nord Kivu, expressed the anguish of the Christian community.
“Our people are being slaughtered simply because they refuse to abandon their faith and their homes,” he said. “Yet even in the face of death, we will not lose hope. We cry for justice, but above all we cling to Christ, who remains our refuge and strength.”
