IS-backed rebels kill 38 in Congo church attack

City officials said Islamic state -backed rebels killed 38 people in an attack on a church in Eastern Congo.

Authorities told Reuters that a city in the Northeast Democratic Republic of Northeast was believed to have been realized by allied democratic forces rebels on Sunday.

Jean Kato, an official in the city administration, said that when the worshipers attacked the church in the early hours of Sunday morning, they joined the mass one night.

Authorities, thirty -eight people were killed, 15 injured and others are still missing, he said.

Christophe Munyanderu, a human rights activist at the scene in KoManda, said the shootings were heard overnight, but that people thought that they were a thief at first.

“The rebels mainly attacked the Christians who spent the night at the Catholic Church.” He said.

“Unfortunately, these people were killed by machete or bullets.”

United Nations Organization The mission of stability in the Congo has recently condemned the resurrection of violence in the state where this attack took place.