Kasanga massacre

The Kasanga massacre was an attack which occurred on 12 February 2025, when some sources reported that IS-aligned Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants (ADF-Baluku) entered the village of Mayba in Lubero Territory, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and abducted at least 70 Christian civilians. The captives were said to have subsequently been taken to a Protestant church in Kasanga, North Kivu, where they were beheaded via machetes. Bodied supposedly associated with the massacre were discovered on 14 February 2025.

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) considered the reports of the massacre as "unverified" while Vatican News described the reports as "confirmed".

Following the radicalization of its founding leader, Jamil Mukulu, the ADF was formed as a merger of several rebel groups (initially called ADF/NALU) in 1995. The ADF initially operated in western Uganda but has since, and currently continues, to operate solely in the eastern DRC; this includes the North Kivu and Ituri Provinces.

The ADF's leadership shifted after the imprisonment of Mukulu on 30 April 2015. Musa Seka Baluku, Mukulu's second-in-command since the group's formation, stepped forward in his place shortly after. Under Baluku's leadership, the group made contact with the IS as early as 2017, were formally recognized as a chapter of Islamic State–Central Africa Province (IS-CAP) in 2018, and formally pledged their allegiance to the IS in 2019. By that year, the ADF had split, with one part remaining loyal to Mukulu and the other to Baluku; they renewed their allegiance in April 2022.^[1]

In response to growing causalities at the hands of the ADF, the Congolese and Ugandan armed forces created a joint military force called Operation Shujaa in November 2021. The Operation's already mixed perception, due to views of Uganda's role in the Second Congo War, was further put into question regarding its effectiveness in actually preventing ADF attacks. According to BBC Monitoring, 90% of the IS' operations were carried out in Africa by September,^[2] of which the ADF committed the second-highest number of civilian killings by a non-state actors globally in 2025, according to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED).^[3]

The motive for the attack is ultimately unclear, but is believed to stem from retaliatory efforts in response to the escalated bombing campaign led by Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) in their joint Operation Shujaa.^[4][5]

In March 2023, nine people were killed and several others went missing following the armed attack carried out by ADF terrorists in the Nguli village in the Lubero territory, North Kivu.^[6][7][8] In the same month, the rebels took civilians hostage in the village of Katiri in Isale Kasongwere Groupement, in the Beni Territory, North Kivu.^[9][10] The insurgents also erected a stronghold in the Virunga National Park between the villages of Kavasewa and Karuruma.^[9]

At 4:00 a.m. local time on 12 February 2025, armed members of the ADF entered the village of Mayba, in Lubero Territory, North Kivu, where they ordered residents to come out of their homes. They immediately took at least 20 civilians captive and left before returning at around 6:00 pm. Upon returning the ADF militants surrounded the village and rounded up an additional 50 civilians.^[11][12]

Once all 70 people were abducted, they were taken to a Protestant CECA 20 church in Kasanga, a neighbouring village near Lubero in Lubero Territory, North Kivu, where they were tied up and executed by machetes.^[12][13][14] The bodies were eventually discovered on 14 February 2025 still in the church.^[15]

The attack has sparked both local and international reactions.

Open Doors UK strongly condemned the attack and called upon "civil societies, governments and international organisations to prioritise civilian protection in eastern DRC where armed groups, such as the ADF, are operating," especially when few people are held accountable in these region, according to an Open Doors legal expert.^[16] Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) confirmed the massacre and its local source claimed that the motive for the killing was because "these victims were unable to resist or endure the forced march" to carry looted goods. ACN did not itself make a statement.^[17] Both sources relied on local sources, which were kept anonymous.^[18] Vatican News reported on 24 February 2025 that ACN, an aid organization of the Catholic Church, and the Agenzia Fides news agency had confirmed the massacre.^[19][20]

The UN Human Rights Council received a letter from the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), which acted on information provided by the Goma-based Africa New Day NGO. The ECLJ confirmed the deaths of 70 Christian civilians and denounced the spread of misinformation that the attack did not explicitly target Christians because over 80% of the Congolese population are Christian.^[21] Although the Council received the document,^[22] its resolutions did not explicitly mention the attack. It did, however, comment on relevant and similar topics.^[23] MONUSCO, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC, released a statement on 24 February 2025 stating that the reports "remain unverified." In its statement, MONUSCO acknowledged that a civil society source had reported discovering over 70 bodies, including those of women, children, and elderly individuals, inside a church building in Maiba village. The victims were allegedly bound and executed with bladed weapons by unidentified assailants. It stressed, however, that "these reports remain unverified".^[18]

The European Union's (EU) Parliament broached a question for written answer on 10 March 2025 regarding the ADF's presence and other rebel groups in the DRC more broadly. At the time, the question of this violence in passing the Memorandum of Understanding on minerals between the EU and Rwanda was critical.^[24] A motion for resolution on the attack, specifically for the end of defending religious freedom and security, stated that the EU condemned the attacks, stressed the persecution of religious groups, claimed that al-Qaeda-linked cells were operating the region, and called for numerous instruments of international institutions and human rights groups to resolve and avoid human right abuses. It acknowledged that Rwanda had a "destabilising" role in the DRC and requested the Commission to review the matter before any decision on the EU-Rwanda MoU on critical raw materials would be made.^[25]

The United Kingdom's Parliament had an Early Day Motion of acts of violence in the DRC, signed by seven members. It confirmed the attack, and reinforced the ADF's link to ISIL. Signatories concurred that the attack was "a heinous act of violence against civilians," that ADF rebels must be held accountable, and called on governments and the institution of which they are a part of to "prioritise civilian protection in DRC where armed groups are operating."^[26]

The International Committee of the Red Cross declined to confirm or deny the claims.^[18]

The ECJL stated that "the [DRC] is once again sinking into violence," primarily due to M23 activity which left 7,000 dead and half a million displaced. Furthermore, it is this violence which allowed ISIL-affiliated ADF rebels to "escalate targeted killings and religious persecution." In response to the "escalating crisis" and this massacre, the ECLJ "launched an international campaign to demand accountability, justice and urgent protection for Christian communities." In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the ECLJ wrote formal letters to numerous organizations including the UN, EU, and numerous African institutions.^[27]