Up to 124 Christians have been killed in a spate of targeted Islamist violence in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
In the most deadly attack on 8 September, Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) online media claimed that “100 Congolese Christians” were killed in Ntoyo village, Lubero District.
Local media reported a minimum death toll of 72 (26 at a funeral service along with 46 other villagers), with one resident counting the bodies quoted as having seen 102 victims.
Islamic State propaganda video showing the burning of Christians’ homes in Lubero District in May 2025 
“It's horrible what I saw,” said a local church minister who visited the scene. “They killed almost all the people who were gathered at the place of mourning.”
Another 18 Christians were captured and killed by the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) near Oicha, Beni District.
Read more: Islamic State is still active – and Christians are in the firing line
Three others died in the same region, while another was killed elsewhere in Lubero District.
ISCAP is known to have murdered around 550 “infidel Christians” in north-eastern DRC since Christmas 2024. At least 34 were killed in an attack on a church service on 28 July, followed by a published demand for Christians to convert to Islam, accept a subjugated status under Islamic rule, or face death.
ISCAP (then known as the Allied Democratic Forces) first pledged bay’a (allegiance) to the central Islamic State in 2017.
How you can pray
Ask the Lord to comfort the devastated community of Ntoyo, and others left in mourning and fear across North Kivu. Pray that He will act against those who threaten and kill His people. Pray also that the Church in D. R. Congo will be a witness of the hope that is found in the Lord Jesus Christ despite ongoing terrorism, violence, hunger and poverty.
