Hungary helping families of beheaded DRC Christians, urges world not to ignore massacre

SA voices also speak out on Christian persecution

Originally published in Worthy News

Hungary says it is rushing aid to families of 70 Christians who were beheaded by Islamist fighters in a Protestant church in the north-eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and urges the world “not to ignore” the massacre.

“This is the worst attack on Christians in a year and a half, and the severity of the attack is compounded by the fact that the world has barely paid attention to it,” said Azbej Tristan, the state secretary for the aid of persecuted Christians and the Hungary Helps Programme.

Tristan expressed anger on X that “70 Christians,” including children, were “beheaded by terrorists in Maiba, Congo” last month. “Why is this atrocity being ignored? It’s time to recognize #ChristianPersecution.”

SA Chief Rabbi calls for action on Christian persecution

The call for the world to stop ignoring incidents like the DRC beheadings was echoed by South African Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein in a video posted on YouTube on Sunday. There is a continent-wide war being waged by Jihadists against Christians in Africa, says Goldstein in the video [see below].

“Each year, thousands of Christians are murdered, raped, kidnapped and beheaded for their faith, burned inside in their churches across the continent. The world stays silent. The media ignores it. Governments look away. Even Christian leaders fail to act. Why? Why is no one speaking out? In this urgent message, Chief Rabbi Goldstein makes a direct call to all to get involved. The time for indifference is over. We must raise our voices. We must demand action from religious leaders, governments, and global institutions,” he says.

ACDP urges Ramaphosa to condemn Christian persecution

Speaking in Parliament this week, ACDP president Rev Kenneth Meshoe also raised the beheading of the DRC Christians. At the end of a speech in a debate dealing with the US government’s decision to suspend aid to SA, he appealed to President Cyril Ramaphosa “to start condemning the slaughter and persecution of Christians, particularly on the African continent”.

Meshoe continued: “He knows about thousands of Christians who have been killed for their beliefs, some who were beheaded by Boko Haram in Nigeria, and yet (to my knowledge) he did not condemn the killings. He knows about the killings of Christians in Somalia and Sudan, and yet says nothing.

“In a recent heinous act of cruelty, violence and madness, 70 Christians were reportedly found beheaded in a church in the DRC.

“According to sources, suspected militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) – a group with ties to the so-called Islamic State (IS) – approached homes in Mayba on 13 February and captured 70 Christian men, women and children, and took them to a protestant church in Kasanga where they were beheaded.

“The ACDP encourages Christians around the world to stand together in unity and pray for peace and the protection of Christians from these ruthless acts of hatred, violence and persecution in Africa and other parts of the world.”

Hungary’s $27 000 gift

Hungary’s Tristan told Worthy News that the state-run Hungary Helps Program he oversees and the Hungarian Reformed Church will provide nearly $27 000 (R494 000) in total, to help the loved ones of those who died.

That is slightly less than the “$15K each” he mentioned on social media site X, but a significant amount in impoverished areas of the DRC.

Aid workers involved in the project say the money will provide immediate humanitarian assistance and help families “make a long-term living and to prosper in their homeland”.

Purchasing seeds

“The donor organisations recommended using financial aid to purchase seeds, to start small businesses or other self-sustaining activities,” the Hungarian Reformed Church said.

The aid arrives at a time when Christians in the DRC’s eastern region are still reeling from the massacre, first reported by Worthy News agency last month.

These killings reportedly happened after fighters of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) entered the village of Mayba on February 13.

The ADF, seen as an Islamist terrorist organisation by the US, is linked to the Islamic State group that seeks to establish an Islamist caliphate.

They arrived around 4am local time in Mayba, in the Lubero Territory of the DRC’s North Kivu province, Christians recalled.

Several fighters approaching homes were heard shouting: “Get out, get out, and don’t make any noise.” Twenty Christian men and women came out and were captured, Christians said.

Shaken by this incident, villagers in Mayba later gathered to work out how to release those held captive. However, ADF militants surrounded the village and captured a further 50 Christian believers.

Protestant church

The captives were subsequently taken to a Protestant church in the regional town of Kasanga, where they were beheaded with a machete, investigators said.

Their bodies were discovered on February 14. Among the victims were elderly people for whom life had just begun, Christians said.

Yet it was difficult to bury all beheaded men, women, and children as believers fear new attacks, Worthy News learned. “We don’t know what to do or how to pray; we’ve had enough of massacres,” a local church leader said.

“The presence of the ADF has made the situation in the area unpredictable, with several of the victims’ relatives unable to bury their family members who died in the attack. Many Christians have reportedly fled the area and continue to do so,” noted the DRC’s Christians supporting the Hungarian Reformed Church.

“This was not just an act of terror. It was a targeted massacre of Christians, and it will not stop here,” added Illia Djadi, senior analyst for Freedom of Religion or Belief in sub-Saharan Africa for advocacy group Open Doors. “The ADF is part of a growing extremist network that wants to wipe out Christianity in the region. If nothing is done, more attacks will follow,” Djadi warned.

“This latest awful incident is a continuation of the escalating threat posed by ADF militants in the country’s northeast region. In 2014, the group intensified attacks in Beni territory in North Kivu province. Since then, attacks have spread to the territories of Irumu and Mambasa in Ituri province, and now it’s affecting Lubero,” Open Doors explained.

Hundreds killed

“In the last month alone, the group has killed more than 200 people in Baswagha chiefdom,” added Open Doors, citing local news reports.

This explains why the DRC rose six places to number 35 in the latest annual World Watch List of 50 nations where Open Doors says Christians face the most persecution for their faith in Christ.

“Last year, 355 were killed for their faith, compared with 261 the previous year, whilst an estimated 10,000 were internally displaced, which is ten times more than 2023. Houses have been looted and burnt, schools relocated, churches and health facilities closed, and several Christian villages have been abandoned altogether,” Open Doors stressed.

Back in Budapest, preparations are underway for sending aid, with Tristan saying that the “Hungarian government felt obliged to help in this situation”.

He recalled that Hungary was the first country to launch a governmental aid program to help persecuted Christians. With more than 100 million people, the DRC is also a source of massive migration, warns Hungary.

It has urged fellow European Union nations to help people stay in their homeland by providing aid and supporting persecuted minorities, including Christians.

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