Attack on the church of Congo East for the rebels backed by the Islamic State kills at least 34, says the civil leader

The number of deaths for an attack against a Catholic Church in the east of the Congo by rebels backed by the Islamic State has increased to 34, according to a civil society leader.

“The bodies of the victims are still in the tragedy scene, and the volunteers are preparing how to bury them in a massive pit that we are preparing in a complex of the Catholic Church,” said Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in Komanda, in the province of Ituri, said the News.

At least five other people were killed in a previous attack against the nearby town of Machongani, from where a search is ongoing.

“They took several people to the mountain; we did not know their destination or their number,” Civil Society of Losa Dhekana, a civil society leader, told the AP of the civil society.

It is believed that both attacks were carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) armed with weapons and machetes.

The army has confirmed at least 10 deaths, while local media reports put the death toll from death in more than 40.

Duranthabo said that the attackers broke into the church in the city of Komanda around 1 in the morning, several houses and shops were also burned.

Lieutenant Jules Ngongo, spokesman for the Congolese army in the province of Ituri, confirmed 10 killed in the Church’s attack.

The video images of the scene shared online seemed to show burning structures and bodies on the church floor. Those who were able to identify some of the victims were crying while others were in shock.

A radio station backed by the UN said that 43 people were killed, citing security sources. He said the attackers came from a fortress of around 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the center of Komanda and fled before the security forces could arrive.

Duranthabo condemned the attack “in a city where all security officials are present.” He added: “We demand military intervention as soon as possible, since we are told that the enemy is still close to our city.”

The east of the Congo has suffered mortal attacks in recent years by armed groups, including ADF rebels and backed by Rwanda. The ADF, which has links with the Islamic State, operates on the border between Uganda and the Congo often points to civilians. The group killed dozens of people in Ituri earlier this month in what a United Nations spokesman described as a bloodbath.

The ADF was formed by small disparate groups in Uganda at the end of the 1990s after the alleged discontent with President Yoweri Museveni.

In 2002, after the military assaults by the Ugandesas forces, the group transferred its activities to the neighboring Congo and since then has been responsible for the murders of thousands of civilians. In 2019, he promised loyalty to the Islamic State.

The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Fardc), which has long fought against the Rebel Group, face attacks from the renewed hostilities between the M23 backed by Rwanda.