Congolese army spokesman Jules Ngongo Tsikode confirmed the deadly attack at a mining camp near Mongolo, but did not say how many casualties there had been.
“In the following hours, we will know the exact number of dead,” Tsekodi said late on Sunday, according to Reuters.
“The army is working day and night to completely eliminate armed groups here in Ituri,” he added.
Civil society leaders estimated that between 30 and 50 people were killed, and one of them said that the local hospital was overcrowded with the number of victims.
Dieudonne Loza, who leads a civil society group in Ituri, blamed the killing on the Kodeko militia, which was notorious for attacking civilian camps.
Authorities said Kodeko fighters killed 18 people in a church last month and 60 others in a camp for the displaced in February.
Reuters was not able to reach the group for comment on Sunday.
Attacks on civilians are a daily risk in Congo’s eastern provinces, where groups such as Kodekou and other warring militias, as well as a local affiliate of the Islamic State, are vying for land and resources.
Such conflicts have claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions more since the beginning of this decade, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
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