The death toll from an attack on a Catholic church in eastern Congo by Islamic State-backed rebels has risen to 34, according to a civil society leader.

"The bodies of the victims are still at the scene of the tragedy, and volunteers are preparing how to bury them in a mass grave that we are preparing in a compound of the Catholic church," Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in Komanda, in the Ituri province, told The Associated Press.

At least five other people were killed in an earlier attack on the nearby village of Machongani, from where a search is ongoing.

"They took several people into the bush; we do not know their destination or their number," Lossa Dhekana, a civil society leader in Ituri, told the AP

Both attacks are believed to have been carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) armed with guns and machetes.

The military has confirmed at least 10 fatalities, while local media reports put the total death toll at more than 40.

Duranthabo said attackers stormed the church in Komanda town at around 1 a.m. Several houses and shops were also burnt.

Lt. Jules Ngongo, a Congolese army spokesperson in Ituri province, confirmed 10 killed in the church attack.

Video footage from the scene shared online appeared to show burning structures and bodies on the floor of the church. Those who were able to identify some of the victims wailed while others stood in shock.

A U.N.-backed radio station said 43 people were killed, citing security sources. It said the attackers came from a stronghold around 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the center of Komanda and fled before security forces could arrive.

Duranthabo condemned the attack "in a town where all the security officials are present." He added: "We demand military intervention as soon as possible, since we are told the enemy is still near our town."

Eastern Congo has suffered deadly attacks in recent years by armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed rebels. The ADF, which has ties to the Islamic State, operates in the borderland between Uganda and Congo and often targets civilians. The group killed dozens of people in Ituri earlier this month in what a United Nations spokesperson described as a bloodbath.

The ADF was formed by disparate small groups in Uganda in the late 1990s following alleged discontent with President Yoweri Museveni.

In 2002, following military assaults by Ugandan forces, the group moved its activities to neighboring Congo and has since been responsible for the killings of thousands of civilians. In 2019, it pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), which has long struggled against the rebel group, has been facing attacks since the renewed hostilities between the Rwanda-backed M23.

Source