Blue helmet soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (archive image)
Photo: AFP
UN blue helmets have found mass graves with 49 dead civilians in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Twelve women and six children were among the dead, said UN spokesman Farhan Haq, according to the AFP news agency.
The soldiers discovered the graves in the villages of Nyamamba and Mbogi during a patrol in Ituri province after attacks by suspected Codeco militias were reported there.
Haq called for an investigation to see if there was a link between the attacks and the mass graves.
The UN mission Monusco supports "the Congolese judicial system in investigating the attacks and demands that the perpetrators be held accountable," he emphasized.
According to the report, there had been repeated attacks by the Codeco militia in Ituri near the border with Uganda in recent weeks.
The militia is considered an armed political-religious sect which claims to defend the interests of the Lendu ethnic group.
More than 80 civilians have been killed in the province since early January, according to human rights activist Dieudonne Lossa.
UN spokesman Haq warned of a "significant deterioration in the security situation" in the region.
At the end of last year, more than 270 civilians were killed in an alleged raid by the M23 militia in the east of the country.
dam/AFP