Suspected Allied Democratic Forces rebels backed by Islamic State are reported to have killed 38 people in an attack on a church in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The assault took place in Komanda, a city in the Northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, is believed to have been carried out by ADF rebels, wielding guns and machetes.
An official in the city administration, Jean Kato, said worshippers were taking part in a night mass when the rebels stormed the church in the early hours of today morning.
A human rights activist present at the scene in Komanda, Christophe Munyanderu, said shots were heard overnight but people at first thought it was thieves.
Munyanderu said that the rebels mainly attacked Christians who were spending the night in the Catholic church and unfortunately, these people were killed with machetes or bullets.
The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has condemned a recent resurgence in violence in the province where this attack happened.
