In February 2025, claims (archived) circulated on social media and news outlets including Fox News and Newsweek that 70 Christians were beheaded in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Media reports and posts (archived) on X (archived), Facebook and Instagram (archived) said the bodies of the victims were found in a church in Kasanga after the victims were kidnapped from Mayeba, both villages in North Kivu province in the country's northeast.
Reports from two religious persecution awareness groups claimed attackers beheaded some or all of the bodies.
Several reports accused the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in the Democratic Republic of Congo, also known as the Allied Democratic Forces, of carrying out the attack. The ADF is an armed group designated by the United States as a terrorist organization.
Some Snopes readers asked whether the reported killings happened in Congo without specifying which of the two nations bearing this name — the Republic of Congo, formerly a French territory, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly a Belgian territory — they were referring to. The two are separate countries bordering the Congo River.
Though the story that 70 Christians were beheaded in the DRC was widely reported in local media, it was not possible to independently verify the claims.
Local media reports featured varying dates for the kidnapping and killing of the alleged victims. Though some stories featured named sources, it was difficult to adequately back up the sources' credentials. Open Doors UK, a charity raising awareness of the prosecution of Christians, told Snopes it was "100% confident" that the reported attack occurred. Meanwhile, MONUSCO, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC, said in a Feb. 24 statement that the reports "remain unverified." The International Committee of the Red Cross in the DRC declined to confirm or deny the claims.
In a statement, MONUSCO said (emphasis ours):
MONUSCO acknowledges the serious allegations received from a civil society source regarding the reported discovery of over 70 bodies, including those of women, children, and elderly individuals, found on 15 February in a church building in Maiba village, Lubero Territory, North Kivu. According to these initial claims, the victims were allegedly tied up and decapitated, possibly killed with bladed weapons by unidentified armed elements men.
At this stage, however, it is important to clarify that these reports remain unverified. Our colleagues from the Joint Human Rights Office (JHRO), in coordination with the MONUSCO field office in Beni, are actively investigating the allegations. In line with our established methodology, these claims can only be substantiated once they are corroborated by at least two independent sources.
For a story to be substantiated it must be corroborated by at least two independent sources, MONUSCO said.
However, MONUSCO did confirm that "at least 40 civilians" were abducted by "elements of the Allied Democratic Forces" from Mayeba, the same village named in the beheading reports, on Feb. 10.
Local media reports used hard-to-verify sources
Local media sources widely reported the story, including Radio Okapi, a MONUSCO-supported outlet, that reported that the 70 bodies were discovered on Feb. 15. However, a report from news site 7sur7 citing a phone interview with Vianney Vitswamba, the head of the local "community protection committee," said the bodies were discovered on Feb. 14.
Another news site, Actualite.cd, reported the alleged victims were abducted on Feb. 11-12, also citing Vitswamba. Afrik.com, a news site reporting on African affairs in French, cited Vitswamba for the Feb. 11-12 abductions but reported, without an attribution, that the bodies were discovered on Feb. 14.
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Anonymous sources formed backbone of charity reports
Several religious charities also reported on the incident. Open Doors UK, a charity raising awareness of the persecution of Christians worldwide, cited Muhindo Musunzi, the director of a local primary school, who said the "chaotic security situation" in the area had caused schools and other public institutions to cease operations. A Google search of Musunzi's name did not bring up credible results prior to the February 2025 story.
Ben Cohen, spokesman for Open Doors UK, told Snopes via email that the organization was "100% confident" that the incident occurred. According to Cohen, the group's Africa team spoke to Musunzi about the attack and contacted local church leaders as well.
"We are gathering more information all the time and expect to have a list of the names of those killed. However we have cross checked and can confirm they were all members of local churches. It is a largely Christian area," Cohen said.
Both Open Doors UK and Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic organization supporting persecuted Christians, cited unnamed sources in their reports.
Aid to the Church in Need cited an anonymous source who said the 70 bodies were discovered on Feb. 15. The source was unnamed for their safety, ACN said. Snopes does not rely on anonymous sources to confirm claims. We have reached out them for more information and await their reply.
There were no reports at the time of this writing that ISIS or the ADF had claimed responsibility for the attack.