Violence continues to spiral in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Aleteia.org reported.
Seventy civilians, including women, children and the elderly, were found murdered in a Protestant church in North Kivu province. The massacre has been blamed on the Islamist Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
The Ugandan-based ADF has been operating in the region for more than a decade, using violence to exert control. Survivors say victims were taken hostage before being tied up and in many cases beheaded - a typical tactic of the group.
The ADF is a Ugandan Islamist rebel group based in western Uganda. It is considered a terrorist organization by the Ugandan government and the United States. Despite repeated military offensives against the group's fighters, its recruitment and financial channels remain active.
The massacre comes amid a wider crisis in eastern DRC, where multiple armed groups are fighting for control of the mineral-rich region.
The conflict has driven hundreds of thousands from their homes, with refugees taking increasingly dangerous routes to safety, including on makeshift boats. The UN refugee agency said the humanitarian situation was "rapidly deteriorating". Many of the displaced lack food, shelter and medical care, with alarming numbers of unaccompanied children arriving in refugee camps.
As tensions escalate, the UN Security Council also called on Rwanda to end its support for the rebels and withdraw its troops from Congo "without preconditions". While diplomatic pressure mounts, the suffering on the ground continues. People remain trapped in a nightmare of violence, displacement and fear.