At least 64 people have been killed in a brutal attack on a Catholic parish in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

A violent onslaught by members of the Islamist rebel group Allied Democratic Forces struck the parish of Saint Joseph of Manguredjipa in the village of Ntoyo, North Kivu province, in the dead of night.

At least 64 people were slaughtered—many of them hacked to death—while others were shot or bludgeoned. The victims had gathered for a mourning ceremony, unsuspecting and vulnerable, when machetes, firearms, and hammers were unleashed. Some attackers then set homes ablaze. Local officials say the assault was clearly premeditated.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has condemned the atrocity and expressed deep solidarity with the bereaved. The charity emphasises that such acts of violence are not isolated but part of a devastating pattern in eastern DRC, where Islamist militants aligned with IS-CAP (Islamic State’s Central Africa Province) operate with alarming impunity.