At least 69 people, most of them civilians, were killed in an armed attack at the end of April in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to security and local sources cited by Agence France-Presse.

Dieudonné Lossa, a civil society official in Ituri province, said the preliminary toll “exceeds seventy deaths,” while security sources confirmed at least 69 fatalities. Recovery efforts were delayed for several days due to insecurity in the area.

Reports indicate that the attack was carried out by armed fighters linked to the CODECO militia in a region long affected by sectarian violence and repeated clashes between armed groups.

The United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) condemned what it described as a “wave of deadly attacks targeting civilians” in the eastern regions of the country, where multiple armed groups remain active.

Eastern DR Congo has faced prolonged instability for more than 30 years. Since late 2021, the M23 rebel movement, backed by Rwanda, has seized large areas in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

Despite a peace agreement signed between DR Congo and Rwanda in December under U.S. mediation, fighting on the ground has continued.