Christian communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Mozambique, Cameroon, Sudan and the Central African Republic have faced a new series of killings, kidnappings and attacks, with ISIS-linked militants responsible for some of the deadliest violence.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Christian communities across parts of Africa have suffered a series of deadly attacks in recent weeks, with killings, kidnappings and assaults reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Mozambique, Cameroon, Sudan and the Central African Republic.
The violence comes amid broader concerns about attacks against Christians across Africa and the continued expansion of Islamist militant organizations in parts of West and Central Africa.
Some of the most sustained violence has occurred in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Islamic State’s Central Africa Province, or ISCAP, has been blamed for killing more than 1,270 Christians since December 2024.
Nigeria has also experienced repeated attacks.
In Plateau State, suspected Fulani militants carried out several assaults during August.
Three Christian brothers were killed in a nighttime ambush Aug. 5 in Tarrai Jol Hamlet in Riyom Local Government Area.
Eleven days later, approximately 100 armed attackers descended on Jwak Maitumbi in Mangu Local Government Area while residents were preparing for church.
At least 30 people were killed in the Aug. 16 attack. More than 50 homes, shops, health centers and churches were burned.
Another assault followed two days later in the same broader area.
At least 24 Christians were killed during an overnight attack on the Bin Mper community in Mangu County, the home county of Plateau State Gov. Caleb Mutfwang.
The violence followed an earlier attack in Kaduna State.
Suspected Fulani militants entered Naridon village in Kauru Local Government Area shortly before midnight July 26 and killed 30 people, including 11 children.
The attacks in Nigeria are occurring alongside continued operations by Boko Haram and other Islamist groups in neighboring Cameroon.
On Aug. 10, Boko Haram militants attacked the village of Mahoula in Cameroon’s Mayo-Sava Division and kidnapped two Christians belonging to two separate churches.
The area lies close to Cameroon’s border with Nigeria and has repeatedly been targeted by Boko Haram and factions that broke away from the organization.
An Islamic State infographic released Aug. 7 claimed more than 100 casualties resulting from operations across Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria during a five-week period.
Farther south, ISIS-linked insurgents have also carried out a succession of attacks in Mozambique.
At least 35 Christians were killed in multiple incidents.
Five people were beheaded July 22 after being captured by militants. The Islamic State’s Al-Naba propaganda publication described those killed as “captured Christian infidels.”
Another 15 people were killed Aug. 1 while attempting to flee the village of Marera.
The violence has not been confined to organizations affiliated with ISIS.
In Sudan’s Nuba Mountains, Pastor Abdel Ibris Jongool, an Episcopal church leader, was shot July 24 and later died from his injuries.
Six civilians had been killed in the same region one day earlier.
Those attacks were attributed to a breakaway faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North rather than the Islamic State.
In the Central African Republic, Father Crépin Martial Monga was shot and killed July 22, one day after baptizing 175 people.
Of those baptized, 160 were recently displaced Christians.
The person responsible for Monga’s killing has not been identified.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, however, has experienced the most prolonged campaign among the countries cited.
ISCAP developed from the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, an armed organization formed in 1995 through an alliance involving members of Uganda’s Tabliq Islamic sect and the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda.
Both groups opposed Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s government.
After an unsuccessful insurgency in western Uganda, ADF fighters withdrew into eastern Congo, where the organization has maintained its base.
As the group experienced internal decline and growing military pressure, its leadership began pledging allegiance to the Islamic State in 2017.
The Islamic State formally recognized the relationship in 2019, incorporating the organization under its Central Africa Province banner.
The alliance provided access to foreign financing and expanded recruiting networks extending across East Africa.
Since that relationship began in 2017, ISCAP has been linked to more than 4,000 deaths in eastern Congo.
Joint operations by Ugandan and Congolese military forces, including the long-running Operation Shujaa, have not brought the attacks to an end.
July and August brought another concentrated period of killings.
Between July 12 and July 16, ADF militants attacked Beni and Mangina three times, killing more than 20 people.
The victims included a church elder and a worship leader.
On July 24, another 31 Christians were killed during three simultaneous attacks on Mangambo, Katerrain and Kotaokola in North Kivu.
One of the deadliest incidents occurred July 31 in Monguiko, where ISCAP fighters killed 17 Christians and captured two others.
The violence resumed Aug. 5 when militants attacked Bakwa and Kapotimo, killing 13 people and capturing eight others. Approximately 40 homes were also burned.
A day later, militants ambushed a riverboat near Biondo, opening fire with machine guns. Five Christians were killed and the vessel was sunk.
The latest attack cited occurred Aug. 10, when ADF fighters attacked Mukoni and Bayeti.
More than 18 people were killed, while another 14 were reported missing.
The continuing violence in Africa is taking place as ISIS and individuals inspired by the organization remain capable of mounting or inspiring attacks well beyond the group’s former territorial strongholds.
On July 25, a man in Berlin who had pledged allegiance to ISIS in a video earlier that day drove a van into people attending the city’s Christopher Street Day Pride event.
One woman was killed and 29 other people were injured.
Police shot and killed the attacker the following day. He had previously traveled to Lebanon in an attempt to reach Syria and join ISIS.
The incident followed other ISIS-linked or ISIS-inspired attacks and alleged plots in Western countries.
An ISIS-inspired truck attack in New Orleans killed 15 people on Bourbon Street on New Year’s Day 2025.
In March 2026, a previously convicted ISIS supporter opened fire at Old Dominion University.
Federal authorities also charged two men described as ISIS-inspired after homemade explosives were thrown toward a crowd outside Gracie Mansion in New York City.
Around the same period, a man drove a vehicle into a Michigan synagogue and opened fire before being stopped by security.
ISIS lost the last of the territory it openly controlled in Iraq and Syria in March 2019 following operations by the U.S.-led coalition and its local partners.
The collapse of its self-declared territorial caliphate did not eliminate the organization.
Its affiliates and supporters continue operating across several regions, including Africa, while individuals influenced by ISIS ideology have remained capable of carrying out or attempting attacks in Europe and the United States.
Recent attacks in Congo and elsewhere demonstrate that the group’s African affiliates remain particularly active, while Christian communities in several affected areas continue facing killings, kidnappings, displacement and destruction of homes and churches.
Original article
Comments