The United Nations said Wednesday peacekeepers discovered mass graves in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, following a series of attacks blamed on a local militia.
U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters one grave in the village of Nyamamba contained 42 bodies, including six children. Seven bodies were found in a grave in the village of Mbogi.
The graves are located in Ituri province, where Haq said there has been a “significant deterioration of the security situation in Djugu and Mahagi territories.”
Haq said since December, the U.N. peacekeeping mission has said at least 195 civilians have been killed and 84 people abducted in incidents linked to two armed groups, CODECO and Zaire.
The U.N. says more than 1.5 million people have been displaced in Ituri, and the attacks have hampered humanitarian efforts.