BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) -At least 14 people were killed in the eastern Congolese province of Ituri on Sunday, after militants attacked worshippers praying in a church, a local official and a civil society leader said on Monday.
The Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CODECO) group, one of many militias operating in the conflict-ridden east, was behind the attack, Djugu territory administrator Ruphin Mapela and civil society leader Dieudonne Lossa told Reuters.
They said that 9 civilians, 4 assailants and a soldier were killed.
CODECO claims to defend the interests of Lendu farmers, who have long been in conflict with Hema herders.
The CODECO raids have worsened a longstanding humanitarian crisis in Ituri province, where some 3 million people are in desperate need of aid, according to a U.N. humanitarian agency.
(Reporting by Erikas Mwisi; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Sharon Singleton)
