More than two dozen people were killed in two separate attacks in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a region in the grip of militia violence, officials said on Wednesday, EDNews.net reports citing Aljazeera.
"CODECO assailants attacked the people of the village of Koli while they were asleep, killing 22 civilians," said Adel Alingi, head of the Djugu administrative region in Ituri province, referring to an armed group targeting the Hema ethnic community.
The raid took place overnight from Saturday to Sunday.
"All [of the dead] were from the Hema community," Alingi told AFP news agency, adding the motive for the attack remained unclear.
"The people of the village have fled for their lives," he said.
In the second attack on Tuesday, two soldiers, a civilian and five members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militia were killed in Beni, in neighbouring North Kivu province, said the army's regional spokesman Anthony Mualushayi..