Fifteen dead in armed clashes in DR Congo

Fifteen people were killed during five days of clashes between armed militia in the Democratic Republic of Congo's restive east, before the army intervened, local officials said today.

"Five civilians and two members of the 'Guidon' group were killed Monday in clashes in Kamiro," said Cosmas Kangakolo, administrator of the Masisi territory in the North Kivu province.

A further eight civilians were killed and others were injured between Friday and Tuesday in clashes between Lukweti and Nyabiondo, he told AFP.

North Kivu has served as a base for Hutu rebels since the genocide of Tutsis by majority Hutus in neighbouring Rwanda in 1994.

The region has long been at the centre of conflict in DR Congo and of tensions in the wider African Great Lakes region.

The fighting was between members of the Alliance of Patriots for a free and sovereign Congo and the Rwandan Hutu rebels against the Mai Mai Nduma Defence of Congo, Kangakolo said.

"Our troops have today taken back control of the localities of Kahira and Kamior. We've dislodged all the militia from there," said army spokesman, Guillaume Ndjike.

More than 70 armed groups were identified in December 2017 in eastern DRC. The eastern part of the country has been torn apart by armed conflict for more than two decades.