Rebels linked to the Islamic State (IS) group have killed more than 50 people at a funeral ceremony in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, officials have said.
Most of the victims were hacked with machetes in the night-time assault by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) on a village in North Kivu province, officials added.
This is the latest in a string of attacks linked to the ADF, raising fears that its insurgency is growing in strength.
The ADF emerged in Uganda in the 1990s, accusing the government there of persecuting Muslims. It is now based across the border in DR Congo and carries out attacks in both countries.
“I can confirm a provisional death toll of 50. The victims were caught off guard at a mourning ceremony in the village of Ntoyo,” Macaire Sivikunula, a local administrator, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
DR Congo army spokesman Lieutenant Marc Elongo said the ADF fighters had “already committed the massacre” by the time soldiers intervened during Monday night’s attack, Reuters reported.
The ADF has not yet commented, but the Islamic State’s Central African Province, to which the group is affiliated, has confirmed the attack.
It said that more than 100 people had been killed.
A local privately owned broadcaster, Mishapi Voice Radio, gave a similar death toll, quoting witnesses as saying there was “utter carnage” in the village, with some people also burnt in their homes.
More than 40 people, including nine children, were killed in an attack by ADF fighters in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in July, the UN and the military said at the time.
Most of them were worshippers taking part in a night vigil at a church in the town of Komanda when they were attacked.
According to research by BBC Monitoring, nearly 90% of IS operations are now carried out by affiliates in Africa.
