On the night of September 8, 2025, the small village of Ntoyo in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, became the scene of yet another unspeakable atrocity. What was meant to be a night of communal mourning, a funeral wake, turned into one of the bloodiest massacres the region has seen this year.

According to local officials and Christian groups, ADF-affiliated militants stormed the gathering at around 9:00 p.m., setting off a wave of violence. Armed with rifles, machetes, and torches, the attackers cut down men, women, and children alike. Homes were set ablaze, motorcycles and vehicles torched, and some victims were reportedly burned alive. By morning, the ground was littered with bodies, more than 60 people killed, some reports placing the number as high as 71.

Ntoyo, once home to about 2,500 residents, has been left in ruins. Survivors describe a night of horror: gunfire mixed with screams, families fleeing into the bush, and neighbors cut down as they tried to escape. Entire households were wiped out. The massacre has triggered mass displacement, villagers abandoning homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

A funeral should be sacred. In African tradition, it is not just a farewell but a reaffirmation of community, solidarity, and faith. The attackers knew this. They struck at the very heart of social life, turning a moment of mourning into mass death.

Who Is Behind the Attack? The Silence of Protection

The attackers belong to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an extremist Muslim group that has pledged allegiance to ISIS. Over the years, the ADF has terrorized eastern Congo with kidnappings, massacres, and the destruction of villages of Christians. Now branded as part of ISIS-Central Africa Province (ISCAP), the group has carried out a string of attacks specifically targeting Christian community gatherings.

This massacre bears the trademarks of their strategy: attack soft targets, inflict maximum casualties, and spread terror so survivors abandon their land.

What angers survivors most is the absence of protection. Despite the presence of the Congolese army and regional military operations, the attackers struck freely and fled without interception. Local residents have accused authorities of neglect, saying warnings of ADF movement in the area were ignored.

The African Union condemned the massacre, calling it a “grave violation of international humanitarian law.” Local bishops, Christian charities, and human rights groups have echoed the outcry, demanding both justice and immediate humanitarian relief. But for the people of Ntoyo, words are not enough.

Eastern Congo has become a graveyard of forgotten massacres. From Beni to Ituri, from Komanda to Kasanga, Christians are repeatedly slaughtered by groups like the ADF, while the world’s attention drifts elsewhere. The Ntoyo massacre is not an isolated tragedy — it is part of a broader campaign of terror, one that thrives in silence and impunity.

We urge our readers and Fellow Christians to keep our brothers and sisters in Africa in your prayers.