At to the lowest degree 12 people convey been shot dead at a church building inward southeast
Nigeria, alongside regime suggesting the bloodshed was due to a local feud.
Witnesses said 5 gunmen stormed St Philip's church building inward Ozubulu, close the metropolis of Onitsha, at 6am local time, in addition to opened burn downward on worshippers.
The police, however, said the killing was the move of a exclusively attacker.
No 1 has claimed responsibleness for the attack.
Garba Umar, the Anambra State police pull chief, said the violence was tied to a feud inside the local community.
"The information at the disposal of the police pull is that the gunman had been hired to kill a detail identify unit of measurement mortal believed to move amid the worshippers," he said.
Witnesses described chaos in addition to bloody scenes at the church.
"I saw my beau church building members dead inward a puddle of their ain blood in addition to many others were screaming inward pain," said Chukwuma Emeka who entered the church building afterwards the shooting.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 worker at the Nnamdi Azikwe University Teaching Hospital said 12 people convey been confirmed dead, in addition to many others alongside gunshot wounds were likewise receiving handling there.
Local rights activist Emeka Umeagbalasi said his information most the motive largely concurred alongside that of the police pull version.
The gunmen went to the church building looking for the boy of a local chief, in addition to opened burn downward on the parishioners when they could non honour him, Umeagbalasi said.
Attacks on churches are rare inward southern Nigeria, which is predominantly Christian.
Authorities said they produce non believe that the armed group
Boko Haram was behind the attack.
Boko Haram fighters convey attacked hundreds of churches in addition to mosques inward Nigeria's mainly-Muslim northward since 2009.
The rebellion has killed at to the lowest degree 20,000 people in addition to forced around 2.6 meg others to flee their homes, sparking a dire
humanitarian crisis in the country's northeast.
