DRC – Massacre in North Kivu: more than 70 civilians killed by ADF in a church

A new tragedy East of the Democratic Republic of Congo. During the night of February 11 to 12, 2025, more than 70 civilians were brutally murdered in a church in the village of Kasanga, located near Maiba, in the territory of Lubero. The massacre, attributed to the rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), has targeted without distinction of women, children and the elderly.

According to the Local Community Protection Committee, the victims were removed in their village before being carried out by force in a place of worship belonging to the Baptist community in the center of Africa (CBCA). There, they were executed with stabbing weapons, under conditions of incredible brutality.

A region delivered to armed violence

For several months, the territory of Lubero has been plagued by an escalation of violence. While the fighting between the Congolese army and the rebels of the M23 rage in other parts of the North Kivu, the ADF take advantage of the confusion to intensify their abuses. Their attacks are multiplying in the chiefdoms of Baswagha and Bapere, plunging the population into a climate of permanent terror.

For Vitwamba Vianney, coordinator of the local community protection committee, this situation is the direct result of the inaction of the authorities. “70 people were missing (…). Their bodies have just been discovered in a church. The area is not controlled by government forces ”he denounces. Many residents and members of civil society call for immediate strengthening of the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), supported by the Ugandan army, to counter the threat.

Persistent impunity

This massacre in Maiba is only an additional episode of a human drama that has been playing out for years in eastern Congo. In six months, several hundred civilians have been killed by the ADF in this region, without concrete measures being taken to stop this spiral of violence.

Faced with this tragedy, civil society requires the immediate opening of an investigation to identify and judge those responsible. It also requires an urgent deployment of government forces to ensure the protection of civilian populations and to put an end to these repeated killings.

In a country where massacres follow one another in an almost total impunity, the question remains: until when will the national and international community tolerate this silent tragedy?