by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) -Terrorists belonging to the Islamic State-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are believed to be responsible for the deaths of 20 Christians who were murdered in North Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between November 20 and November 25, Morning Star News reports. The number of jihadist attacks on civilians has increased since the DRC army launched a large-scale offensive in October 2019.
Describing atrocities committed against his wife and children during the recent attacks, a clergyman who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, told Morning Star News: “[The ADF] tried to force some of our Christians to convert to Islam. They also tried to force my wife and our four children to convert to Islam, but when they refused to convert, they shot my wife in the head while our four children were cut into pieces with a Somali sword.”
During the last month, the clergyman added, Islamic terrorists have killed 50 Christians, mainly women and children, during attacks on the villages of Kabumba, Mutwangano, Beni, Baeti, Kokola, Biangolo, Lisasa and Mutido.
One of the largest jihadist insurgent groups to operate in predominantly Christian northeastern Congo, the ADF organization was founded in the 1990s, Morning Star News said. The Islamist terrorists are reportedly intent on establishing an Islamic state governed by sharia (Islamic law) in the region.
In December 2019 the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on ADF leaders for mass rape, torture and murder and other human rights abuses, Morning Star News reports.