Pope Francis called on national and international authorities to take action to stop the bloodshed in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo following a week in which dozens were killed in the North Kivu province.
At the end of his weekly Sunday prayers on St Peter’s Square, he said the victims included many Christians.
“Painful news continues to arrive of battles and massacres that are happening in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” the pontiff said.
“I appeal to the national authorities and the international community to do all that is possible to stop the violence and to protect civilian lives.”
He said many Christians were among the victims of the recent attacks. Francis said they were “killed in hatred of their faith” and described them as “martyrs”.