Over eighty Christians were killed on Monday in a bloody attack carried out by jihadists in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the Amaq agency, controlled by the Islamic State.

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a jihadist militia linked to the Islamic State in Central Africa (ISCA), claimed responsibility of the attack.

They said in a statement that “the attack targeted a large crowd of Christians in the village, killing at least 100 of them and injuring others”, informed the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant activities.

A premeditated massacre

The killing took place during a Christian funeral service in Ntoyo, a village in Lubero territory in the eastern province of North Kivu

“The victims were caught off guard at a mourning ceremony around 9 p.m., and most of them were killed with machetes”, explained Macaire Sivikunula, a local administrator. Others were shot.

The terrorists burned around 30 houses and other Christian properties before leaving. “The recent attacks in Oisha and Lubero came after Congolese and Ugandan forces claimed to have restored security in those areas”, the jihadist statement said, questioning the work of the military.

In adition to this incident, authorities told news agency Reuters that 18 people were also killed in a separate suspected ADF attack on another village.

DRC: A frequent target for jihadists

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a predominantly Christian country. Christian services and churches have become regular targets of these violent attacks, which aim to intimidate and displace Christian communities.

The Ntoyo massacre is not an isolated incident, in August the ADF killed more than 50 civilians in multiple attacks, while an ADF attack in July on a Roman catholic church left 38 dead.

The ADF emerged in Uganda in the 1990s, but since 2019 they operate under the Islamic State umbrella, following their leader's pledge of allegiance. Since then, they have intensified attacks on defenceless villages in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where they have killed thousands of civilians.