Christians on the Run in Congo as Terrorist Attacks Worsen

An Islamic rebel group is suspected of killing at least 64 civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Reports say at least 36 of the victims were tied up and brutally hacked to death in their homes and fields on the outskirts of Beni, a small town in the northeast part of the African nation.

A young man who survived the attack described what happened on Saturday, August 13.

"The guy in front turned his weapon on me," Reagen Kyaviro told Al Jazeera. "When I tried to run away from the house, he hit me on the neck with the side of his gun. He took me by my shirt. I was forced to run. By chance, they did not follow me."

The DRC government has blamed the attack on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamist rebel group that has launched several assaults in the region since October 2014.

Julien Paluku, a local DRC army spokesman, claimed this attack was the deadliest, saying "the population of Beni has once again been hit by terrorist acts."

Open Doors International, a group that monitors religious freedom around the world, sent one of its representatives to the area shortly before the attack.

The ODI aid worker, who wishes to remain anonymous for security reasons, described what life is like in this mostly Christian province.

"Eighty percent of the households here have farms, but they cannot access them because is it simply too dangerous," the aid worker told World Watch Monitor. "This means no food and no revenue. They have become vulnerable to starvation."

The eastern part of the DRC has witnessed years of turmoil as rebel groups and the DRC army have fought each other over mineral reserves.

Local activists in Beni claim more than 600 people have died in ADF-related ambushes in the last two years. Many of those killed were either beheaded, mutilated or raped.

Churches in the region have been trying to bring peace and reconciliation, even as they struggle to bring relief and encouragement to the civilian population.

"We do not understand why this is happening to us," one pastor told the Open Doors aid worker. "The rebels just take people into the bush to kill them or kidnap them. They attack one place for a while and cause people to run away. Then they strike the places people run to."

Several churches have been forced to close because of the violence.

"We used to have 350 members in church," another pastor told Open Doors. "After the rebels attacked us, we returned for services the very next Sunday. But there were just 10 of us."

ADF has been listed by the United Nations as a terrorist organization with potential links to Somalia's Al-Shabaab.

DRC President Joseph Kabila had visited the region just days before the attack, promising to improve security conditions. He has declared three days of national mourning starting on Monday.

Meanwhile, a government spokesman is asking the international community to help deal with the "jihadist threat" facing his country.