DOZENS KILLED IN VIOLENT CLASH IN ITURI PROVINCE OF DR CONGO

More than 33 people have been killed in a fresh outbreak of ethnic violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities say.

Unrest broke out between the Hema and Lendu communities in the north-eastern province of Ituri.

A UN-sponsored broadcaster said the assailants were eventually forced back by security forces.

More than 100 people have been killed by violence in the province since mid-December.

The unrest between the Hema cattle herders and Lendu farmers of the Ituri region is one of several conflicts in DR Congo which have produced a huge amount of refugees and internally displaced people over the past two years.

Some 200,000 people are estimated to have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the violence in Ituri alone.

Local army spokesman Jules Ngongo told Reuters news agency that state forces had separated the two sides.

"It was a case of reprisals by the two communities. According to our information, there were cases of people being decapitated," he said. Some charities put the death toll at 49 or more.

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