Multiple churchgoers have been killed in an attack by an Islamic State affiliate in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to police.
Nearly 20 of the dead were worshippers taking part in a night vigil at a church in the town of Komanda when they were attacked by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) fighters.
Shops and businesses close by were reportedly looted and set on fire, leaving many injured as a few tried to flee towards safety.
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It was back in the 1990s that the ADF emerged in Uganda, accusing the government there of persecuting Muslims.
However, it is now based over the border in DR Congo, where it often attacks civilians of all religions, as well as in Uganda.
Since then, it has become part of the Islamic State’s Central African Province, which also includes a group in Mozambique.
Nearly 90% of IS operations are now carried out by affiliates in Africa, according to the BBC.
Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in Komanda, told the Associated Press that after the latest attack, more bodies could be discovered.
“More than 21 people were shot dead inside and outside [the church] and we have recorded at least three charred bodies and several houses burned. But the search is continuing.”
“We have at least 31 dead members of the Eucharistic Crusade movement, with six seriously injured. Some young people were kidnapped, we have no news of them”, local priest Father Aime Lokana Dhego told the AFP.
Dhego added that seven other bodies had been discovered elsewhere in the town of DR Congo after the attack.
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The UN-sponsored Radio Okapi website placed the number of dead at 43, and a spokesperson for the army revealed that he could confirm 10 deaths.
