At least 34 dead after massacres in northeast Congo

BUNIA, Congo – Authorities say nearly three dozen people have been killed in the latest round of intercommunal fighting in northeastern Congo.

Interior Minister Henri Mova Sakanyi said 34 bodies had been found Friday after the killings in several villages in Congo’s Ituri province.

But one legislator who spoke with U.N.-backed Radio Okapi put the toll at 50 dead, and urged the military to stop the killings.

In early February, fighting erupted and left at least 26 dead in the area.

The violence has been between members of the Lendu and Hema groups, whose battles between 1999 and 2004 left untold thousands dead and led to the arrival of a U.N. peacekeeping force in the area.