Isis-linked terrorists massacre 60 Christians with axes and machetes in front of their families

A group of Islamic State-linked terrorists killed Christians with axes and machetes in a bloody massacre in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Fighters from the Islamic State (IS)-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) group targeted a wake in the village of Ntoyo.

The incident, which occurred in September 2025 and shocked Christian communities around the world, is one of many highlighted in a new report by Amnesty International.

According to researchers, the majority of victims of the ADF are Congolese Christians, but the group also kills local Muslims who speak out against their interpretation of Islam.

The charity said the ADF dates back to neighbouring Uganda in the 1990s, with the group being formed by people accusing the government of persecuting Muslims.

However, once the Ugandan army routed the group, its remnants fled across the border into the DRC, before swearing allegiance to IS in late 2018.

Amnesty International said the group's actions since then have amounted to war crimes or crimes against humanity.

The charity’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said: "Civilians in the eastern DRC have suffered extensive brutality at the hands of ADF fighters. They have been killed, abducted and tortured in a dehumanising campaign of abuse."

Separate attacks by the Rwanda-backed March 23 movement (M23) have left the Congolese military overstretched, with the ADF ramping up their attacks in the region.

The author of the new report, Rawya Rageh, told The Telegraph: “The ADF has been operating in eastern Congo for years now and has been waging really horrific attacks on the civilian population.

"The vast majority of the ADF’s victims have been Christians, given the demographic composition in the area of its operations.

"That said, the group’s statements and claims of responsibility do make specific references to Christians being targeted, and the ADF’s leaders have stressed the permissibility of killing them.

"The group has also abducted and killed Muslims who do not espouse their version of their religion."

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One woman who saw an ADF attack in Ituri in July 2025 said fighters shot her, her husband and their seven-year-old son.

She said: "After shooting us, they proceeded to burn houses… [My son and] I crawled slowly into a house that wasn’t burned and spent the night there.

"Even in the morning, [the military] didn’t come. Everyone had to take care of themselves."

In November 2025, the ADF attacked a health centre in the village of Byambwe, killing at least 17 civilians and setting four wards on fire, with an eyewitness saying: "You couldn’t stand, they shot at anything that moved."

In April, Ugandan and Congolese soldiers rescued at least 200 civilians in a raid on an ADF camp in the east of the DRC.

The Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces said in a statement that those freed from the camp along the River Epulu included a 14-year-old girl.

"Several appeared frail, suffering from untreated illnesses such as malaria, respiratory infections, and physical exhaustion," the UPDF statement said.