IS-backed rebels kill 38 in Congo church attack

Islamic State-backed rebels have killed 43 people in an attack on a church in eastern Congo, city officials say.

The assault in Komanda, a city in the northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, on Sunday is believed to have been carried out by Allied Democratic Forces rebels, wielding guns and machetes, officials told Reuters.

Jean Kato, an official in the city administration, said worshippers were taking part in a night mass when the rebels stormed the church in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The rebels reportedly stabbed 20 worshippers during a prayer session in the village of Komanda in the north-eastern province of Ituri, police officer Alfonse Leku said.

Subsequently, the rebels set fire to surrounding houses and shops, during which at least 23 more people were killed, Leku said.

Christophe Munyanderu, a human rights activist present at the scene in Komanda, said shots were heard overnight but people at first thought it was thieves.

"The rebels mainly attacked Christians who were spending the night in the Catholic church," Munyanderu said.

"Unfortunately, these people were killed with machetes or bullets."

The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DR Congo has condemned a recent resurgence in violence in the province where this attack happened.

Eastern Congo is considered one of the most dangerous regions in the world. Across the country, which is about the size of Western Europe, around 130 different armed groups are said to be active.

Many of the armed groups are focused on controlling valuable natural resources such as coltan, cobalt, gold and diamonds.

The ADF, originally from neighbouring Uganda and considered an offshoot of the terrorist militia Islamic State, has been active in Congo for almost 30 years.

with DPA