A local source in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has confirmed that jihadists left the dead bodies of 70 Africans in a church – many of whom had been beheaded.

Speaking to catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need,the source, who asked to remain anonymous because of fear of reprisals, corroborated reports that at least 70 trussed up corpses were discovered in North Kivu Province last week.

The source said: “On 15th February, 70 bodies were discovered inside a Protestant church.