World
70 Christians beheaded in African country by ISIS-aligned militants, groups say; world mostly silent
JOHANNESBURG – Seventy Christians have been beheaded with machetes or large knives, according to multiple groups that monitor terrorism and persecution, by Islamist militants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – and yet the world remains mostly silent.
The 70 Christians were first rounded up by Islamist rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces, a group affiliated with the terror group Islamic State, or ISIS, according Open Doors U.S., which monitors Christian persecution around the world. The Christians, reportedly all from the Lubero district, were forced out of their homes allegedly early in the morning of Feb. 13, with the rebels shouting, “Get out, get out.”
They were taken hostage, and moved to a small Christian church in the village of Kasanga. There, inside the building that had until then been considered a sanctuary, they were first tied up, and then all 70 were beheaded, the groups say.
Vianney Vitswamba, coordinator of a local community protection committee, is quoted by the Global Fight Against Terrorism Funding organization, (GFATF) as saying, “70 bodies were discovered in the church. They were (found) tied up.”
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Recent clashes in the same Lubero district where the massacre of Christians took place show members of the Congolese Red Cross carrying body bags containing human remains during a mass burial for victims of the clashes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo at Musigiko cemetery in Bukavu on Feb. 20, 2025. It is not clear from the picture whether the two events are related. The army of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on February 20, 2025, urged on local airwaves the soldiers fleeing in the eastern province of North Kivu to rejoin their units and continue the fight to counter the advance of the M23 rebels. In Lubero, a town toward which the M23 is advancing, 250 km north of the provincial capital Goma, taken on January 28, terrified residents reported to AFP Congolese soldiers in disarray shooting in the town and engaging in looting. (Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images)
Sources report that local Islamist militants wouldn’t let Christian leaders bury the dead for some five days.
Open Doors U.S. reports that 95% of people living in the DRC are Christian. Yet the Islamist ADF, analysts say, are bent on turning this community in the troubled North East of the country into an Islamic Caliphate, forcing this majority-Christian community to follow extreme Muslim practices.
“The violence takes place in a context of impunity, where almost no one is held accountable,” John Samuel, Open Doors legal expert for sub-Saharan Africa, stated. “This massacre is a clear indicator of widespread human rights violations against civilians and vulnerable communities, often targeting Christians, perpetrated by ADF – a(n) Islamic State affiliate.”
Tristan Azbej, Hungary’s State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians posted on X, “Horrified to learn about the 70 Christian martyrs beheaded by terrorists in a church . . . . Hungary stands in solidarity with the persecuted Christians . . . the world needs to recognize and act against Christian persecution.”
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Open Doors UK declared in a recent statement that Christians in the DRC “face severe persecution and violence frequently from Islamist militants, the ADF, especially in the eastern region. Allied with the Islamic State group, the ADF abduct and kill Christians and attack churches, leading to widespread terror, insecurity and displacement.”
Worldwide, and particularly in Africa, Christians face increasing persecution. In a January 2025 report, Open Doors US stated that “over 380 million Christians worldwide experienced at least a “high level” of persecution and discrimination because of their faith.”
The facade of a church hit by an artillery shell following clashes is seen in Goma on Jan. 30, 2025. (Alexis Huguet/AFP via Getty Images)
Local Christians are said to be in despair. “We don’t know what to do or how to pray; we’ve had enough of massacres,” an elder of the local CECA20 church told reporters. “May God’s will alone be done.”
But despite the shocking nature of the killings, and the large number of those murdered, there has been little reported in the media. Posting on X, American political commentator Liz Wheeler wrote, “70 Christian men, women & children were beheaded . . . because they’re Christian. Their decapitated bodies were left in a church . . . because they’re Christian. The terrorists who murdered them have ties to ISIS. MSM, where’s your outrage? Are you silent . . . because they’re Christian?”
Also in North-Eastern DRC, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are reported to have entered the region’s second-largest city of Bukavu on Friday, after taking over the major city of Goma on the Rwanda border.
Iranians mourning the country’s supreme leader condemned U.S. strikes that Washington called retaliation for Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. At a tightly controlled state funeral in Mashhad — one of Iran’s most conservative cities, where opponents of the government were unlikely to be found in the crowd — mourners voiced defiance and called for revenge.
World
Beloved musicians among victims in deadly Bahamas plane crash; aviation authority grounds flights
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A devastating double-aviation crisis in the Bahamas, including a deadly North Andros plane crash and a separate aircraft fire on Friday, prompted the government to suspend flight operations for a local airline and launch a federal safety probe.
Shortly after 1 p.m. local time Friday, a Cessna 402 aircraft with Bahamian registration departed Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau bound for San Andros Airport.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said the plane “encountered difficulties” and crashed into bushes prior to landing.
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Authorities said 10 people were killed in a Bahamas plane crash on Friday. (Our News Bahamas via AP)
First responders, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Airport Authority and emergency medical personnel, rushed to the dense brush where the aircraft went down.
The Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union confirmed in a statement Saturday that 10 people died in the crash, including prominent members of the “The Pond Band” and a local DJ, whose artistry the union said “touched so many lives and helped to enrich the cultural fabric of The Bahamas.”
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said a sole survivor was pulled from the wreckage.
“Ann and I are praying for the families who are now facing unbearable grief,” Davis wrote in a statement on X. “We are also praying for the survivor, whose recovery and care will remain in our thoughts.”
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The identities of those killed in the crash have not yet been released.
While the AAIA’s preliminary reports initially indicated seven people were on board, officials are still establishing the facts of the flight manifest.
Just hours before the fatal crash in North Andros, a Flamingo Air flight en route to Mayaguana was forced to turn back to Nassau after the pilot reported a concern, according to the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation (MoET).
After the aircraft landed and passengers safely deplaned, the plane caught fire on the runway.
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FILE – The Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate following two aircraft incidents Friday. (iStock)
Following the two back-to-back safety incidents, the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAAB) temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate, according to MoET officials.
“The suspension is a precautionary safety measure and should not be treated as an adverse compliance action against Flamingo Air,” the agency wrote in a statement.
FILE – The plane crashed in North Andros on Friday after taking off from Lynden Pindling International Airport. (Melissa Alcena/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Investigators from the AAIA and inspectors from the CAAB remain at the scene in North Andros as they work to determine what caused the Cessna 402 tragedy.
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Flamingo Air did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Published on •Updated
Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu nominated businessman Vasile Tofan on Saturday as the country’s next prime minister to replace Alexandru Munteanu, who resigned earlier this month over differences with the ruling majority.
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In a video posted to social media, Sandu said Tofan’s primary responsibility, after his candidacy is approved by the country’s parliament, would be to move the country further towards its path of “integration” into the European Union.
He should also “strengthen the resilience of state institutions and society”, and “revive the economy”, added Sandu.
The Moldovan businessman now has two weeks to secure parliamentary backing, a prospect he hopes to achieve after submitting his government programme and his ministerial cabinet nominations.
Tofan had been mentioned as a possible prime minister last year even before the appointment of Munteanu.
Igor Grosu, who heads Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) which won the last parliamentary elections in September, announced on Friday that he had selected him as his candidate to replace the outgoing premier.
He said Tofan shared “the same objectives” as him and PAS, specifying that “EU accession in the years to come, institutional reform and economic growth”, were among the biggest points of agreement.
The nominee for prime minister, who graduated Harvard Business School and turns 44 on Sunday, has a degree in public management from the Netherlands and is a managing partner at Horizon Capital, a private equity firm with assets primarily in Ukraine and Moldova.
He has also chaired the board of directors of Moldova’s Purcari winery, considered the crown jewel of the country’s winemaking sector.
Munteanu, another businessman who like Sandu previously worked at the World Bank, had been chosen to boost the economy and bring it closer to the EU, but turbulence with PAS saw him vacate his post less than a year into holding office.
He resigned on 3 July after less than eight months, stating that he could no longer carry out his mandate “according to (his) principles and (his) convictions”.
The EU last month officially launched a first round of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Both countries became official EU candidate countries on 23 June 2022.
Additional sources • AFP
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