Islamist massacres against Christians in Africa are becoming more and more common, with the latest attack occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

At least 64 people were killed on Sept. 8 when militants believed to be from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked Ntoyo village in Saint Joseph of Maguredjipa parish, North Kivu.

Despite the name, the ADF is in fact aligned with the Islamic State terrorist group, also known as IS, ISIS and ISIL, billing itself as the local branch of the international Jihadist group.

Local sources, speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), said that the attackers set fire to homes and killed their victims with guns and hammers. Many of those killed were attending a wake.

Sadly, this is not the first such attack in the DRC. In mid-August a wave of ADF attacks claimed the lives of 52 Christians, also in North Kivu. Some 43 Christians were killed at a prayer vigil in July, and at the beginning of the year, 70 Christians were found beheaded in a Protestant church.

Bishop Melchisédech Sikuli Paluko of Butembo-Ben told ACN, “To all the families affected by this umpteenth and horrible carnage … and to all the faithful of the parish, we express our spiritual closeness.

“May God, the Master of Life, strengthen us through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, consoler of the afflicted, and lead us beyond the desert of present-day suffering to lasting peace.”

Bishop Paluko’s comments about the regularity of anti-Christian massacres echo those of Bishop Wilfred Anagbe from Nigeria, the country which has seen more Christians killed in recent years than any other.

Earlier this year Bishop Anagbe told the British House of Lords that parts of the country had become so bad that massacres during Christian festivals like Christmas had become “customary.”

Despite a huge Christian population, Nigeria is ranked by Open Doors as the seventh-worst country for anti-Christian persecution due to the severity of Islamist violence.

The DRC is ranked No. 35 on the list, but has risen six places from last year, due to the increase in Islamist violence.

This article was originally published on Christian Today