03/13/2026 DRC (International Christian Concern) – Christians are being attacked, murdered, and abducted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) every week, and the violence appears to be worse than ever.

Between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, the Institute for International Religious Freedom reported that nearly 400 Christians were murdered in the DRC. And this is only a fraction of the total violence being perpetrated, as reported by just one entity.

Rebel militias have gained vast influence over the Christian-majority nation due to extremist Islamist ideologies, years-long civil wars, and political upheaval.

Although officials within the DRC continue their attempts to wrest control from terrorist groups who have overrun the nation, many experts recognize the country as a failed state. This is largely due to its failure to protect its own citizens’ basic human rights and provide safety from violence, chaos, and lawlessness.

According to an ICC staffer, “terrorism is running rampant in eastern DRC, fueled by regional tensions and the Congolese government’s inability to effectively counter militant attacks.”

The nation is rife with militia groups; however, two prominent terrorist organizations are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Christians in 2025 alone.

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and the M23 rebel group have been instrumental in shattering peace and destabilizing the region.

In February 2025, the European Parliament proclaimed the urgency of the violence imposed upon Christians in the DRC by these two groups.

“The systematic attacks on Christian communities in the region by armed groups such as the ADF and groups allied to the M23 constitute a serious human rights violation that requires immediate international attention,” the Parliament stated.

ADF Attacks

The ADF — whose purpose is to gain a foothold in the nation, establish Sharia law in areas it controls, and kill non-Muslims — has strong ties to the Islamic State group. It’s also referred to as the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP).

According to the African Security Analysis, “the ADF/ISCAP imposes religious constraints: studying the Quran and converting to Islam are compulsory, with violent retribution for noncompliance.” Their aim is to convert Christians to Islam to deepen acceptance of their Islamist-motivated political behavior.

The leader of the ADF, Musa Baluku, is known to enjoy violence and attend the beheadings and crucifixions of prisoners. He’s also explicitly expressed morbid disdain for non-Muslims.

“Only Muslims are the real living human beings; all non-Muslims are corpses … whoever is not a Muslim is equivalent to a dead body,” Baluku stated.

The ADF claims it has killed more than 700 Christians since Christmas 2024.

According to Amnesty International, the terrorists are “abducting and killing civilians with alarming frequency, and abusing women and girls as sexual slaves in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.” Women are also subjected to forced marriages to ADF members. If they don’t accept the marriage, they’re killed. The group targets hospitals, Christian churches, and work sites for killings and abductions.

In November, the ADF carried out an attack over the course of one week, Nov. 13-19, 2025, throughout the Lubero territory of North Kivu, DRC. During the rampage, 89 individuals lost their lives, including 20 women and an unknown number of children.

During the week-long siege, on Nov. 15, ADF militants attacked a medical center in Byambwe and killed 18 patients as they lay in their hospital beds. After looting hospital supplies, they set the facility, along with nearby homes, on fire, killing an additional two individuals.

ADF fighters stole robes from a Christian church on Aug. 13 and posed as members of the clergy. The fighters infiltrated the area of Mayi Moya, where they deceived locals into believing they were Christ followers until they began abducting citizens. Eight individuals were taken.

On Oct. 7, the ADF attacked a gold mining site and killed five miners as they worked.

M23 Attacks

As a result of many years of political and civil unrest, groups like M23, believed by many to be backed by neighboring Rwanda, have risen to power. Unlike the ADF, M23 isn’t motivated by Islam. Instead, their mission is a political one, rooted in a bitter ethnic and tribal rivalry, spanning decades, between the Tutsi and Hutu people groups. M23 claims to represent the Tutsi people, who they say have been marginalized by the Hutus. Their aim is to change the politics of the DRC in favor of the Tutsi people, and they are willing to attack anyone who gets in their way.

In January 2025, M23 overtook and captured Goma, a major DRC hub and the capital of North Kivu Province. During that same time, M23 fighters also took control of mines in Masisi and Minova.

The rebel group seized Bukavu, capital of South Kivu, in February 2025.

According to Africa News, M23 has reportedly killed “more than 1,500 civilians” since the beginning of December 2025.

Refugee Camps

As a result of the nearly constant violence perpetrated by the ADF and M23, millions of Christians have been displaced and forced to live in unsafe refugee camps within the nation. The camps themselves are targeted by militia groups and often lack necessities like proper sanitation and food.

How We’re Helping

In the face of brutality and ongoing peril in the nation, ICC is stepping in to alleviate some of the burden inflicted on Christ followers by the ruthless militias who are running the country.

ICC provides the following to affected individuals in the DRC:

• Emergency relief to displaced Christians in the form of clothing, rebuilding homes, supplying medicine, and food.
• Small business support to help individuals provide an income stream for themselves and their families. Examples include helping to set up small shops for those who have lost everything due to terrorist attacks. ICC also provided a motorcycle to a man whose village was burned down. The man used the motorcycle to earn an income delivering goods and driving passengers to their destinations.
• Financial aid and building assistance to orphanages that provide shelter, meals, and Bible teaching to children who have been orphaned due to Islamist violence.
• Bible outreach in areas that are unstable and often violent.

Accountability and neutralization of terrorist organizations are urgently needed in the DRC. Rebel militias in the nation will continue their cycle of terrorism and persecution so long as they go unchecked and unnoticed on the world stage.

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