The attack in Ituri province of the DRC was reportedly carried out by the Co-operative for the Development of the Congo (Codeco) coalition of militia groups in several villages on April 28, but has only just been revealed, News.Az reports, citing Morning Star.
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Two ethnic groups, the Hema and the Lendu, have been locked in a long-running conflict in Ituri, a gold-rich province that borders Uganda and South Sudan.
Codeco claims to be a protector of the Lendu people.
The latest reported attacks followed an earlier assault by another armed militia, the Convention for the Popular Revolution (CRP), which says it fights for the Hema people, on positions currently held by the Congolese army (Fardc) near the locality of Pimbo.
Two security sources confirmed the Ituri province death toll of at least 69, including 19 militia members and soldiers.
The presence of Codeco fighters delayed access and the recovery of the bodies for several days, they said.
A humanitarian source described the grim scene of numerous bodies “strewn on the ground” near the village of Bassa, one of the areas targeted.
The United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (Monusco) said on April 30 it had rescued “nearly 200 people caught under fire” from the CRP assault on the Fardc.
Over the weekend, the UN body said it “strongly condemns the recent wave of deadly attacks targeting civilians” in the east of the country.
The Ente association, a charity representing the Hema community, described the killings as a “massacre,” urging its members to avoid retaliation.
Famous for its wealth of cobalt, copper, uranium and diamonds, the DRC has long been beset by corruption and bloodshed.
Since early 2025, Ituri has seen a resurgence of the CRP, a group founded by convicted Congolese strongman Thomas Lubanga.
Mr Lubanga was found guilty in 2012 by the International Criminal Court for recruiting children into his rebel army and released in 2020 on completion of his prison sentence.
Fighting between the CRP, the Congolese army and the Codeco has been marked by widespread abuses and killings of civilians.
The region also faces attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militia formed by former Ugandan rebels.
Amnesty International’s Rawya Rageh said government forces should be doing more to protect civilians in the region as they were being left “completely vulnerable to ADF and other armed groups.”
