Authorities say militia fighters in northeastern Congo have killed at least 55 civilians in an attack on a cluster of villages and a camp for displaced people camp.

ISTANBUL (AA) — At least 52 people were killed in an alleged attack by the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO) militia in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local media reported on Tuesday. The militia had launched attacks late Monday in three localities in Dguju in the northeastern province of Ituri.

A Swiss aid group said on Thursday that three of its local employees were killed during an attack while on a humanitarian mission in eastern Congo where Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have made advances.

The head of the Djaiba group of villages in Djugu territory, Jean Vianney, on Tuesday said armed militants killed no fewer than 35 civilians during an attack on a cluster of villages in Ituri province,