A Catholic priest has been killed by armed men in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The death is the third killing of a priest in the DRC's North Kivu province and it comes as another kidnapped Congolese priest has been released from captivity.

Fr Étienne Sengiyumva, the parish pastor of the North Kivu region, was shot and killed by unidentified armed assailants on Sunday.

'After celebrating the Mass at Kyahemba, a district in his parish, around 3pm, Fr. Étienne was meeting with his parish staff, when an armed man, accompanied by others, entered the meeting room and shot the priest point blank in the head, killing him instantly,' Bishop Théophile Kaboy Ruboneka of the Goma diocese told Agenzia Fides yesterday.

'The murder happened so quickly that those present couldn't take note of how many people had entered the room to kill Fr Étienne,' he added.

The Bishop said the identity of the armed group was unknown. 'Fr Étienne is the third priest killed in the area', he said.

'Investigations on the perpetrators of these deaths never lead to anything. On our behalf, we will do everything to identify Fr. Étienne's murderers. In these cases, the witnesses fear for their lives and that of their loved ones and hardly offer useful information'.

The bishop said there was no connection between the killing of Etienne and the release of Congolese pastor Célestin Ngango, parish priest of Karambi, who was freed from captivity on April 5.

The priest was kidnapped by armed individuals after celebrating Mass on Easter Sunday, and his captors demanded a ransom of US $500,000 for his release. He was returned to his family on April 5, reportedly unharmed and in good health; the Goma diocese has not specified the circumstances of his release. 

Ruboneka said: 'In our region there are so many armed groups that it is difficult to understand who commits the action. Here in North Kivu we live in total chaos. The situation in my diocese of Goma, like that of Butembo-Beni, is incredible. We are completely abandoned by everyone; we live only thanks to Providence.'

DRC has suffered decades of war and unrest, driven by inter-communal tensions, poor leadership, corruption and the involvement of surrounding nations eager for a share of its natural resources. The UN reported in March 2018 that 2 million children are at risk of starvation.