13 civilians killed in Christmas Day ethnic attack
The violence came after 13 members of the Nande ethnic group were killed Thursday by Hutu militia forces.
A military operation was deployed to put an end to the Christmas Day killing spree
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A military operation to put an end to the Christmas Day killing spree left three Nande fighters dead, said local official Alphonse Mahano.
The violence came after 13 members of the Nande ethnic group were killed Thursday by Hutu militia forces at Bwalanda in the same region.
Local officials and the army however did not say whether the two attacks were linked.
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"The victims (of the latest killings) were all Hutu. There was an eight-year-old girl, a father and the rest were women," Mahano said.
"The Mai Mai Mazembe (Nande militia) and their allies attacked (the village of) Nyanzale on Sunday morning. The army intervened to restore order," local army spokesman Major Guillaume Djike said.
According to the military spokesman, six members of the Nande militia were killed.
Nyanzale is a Hutu majority community.
At least 35 civilians were killed in North Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo during the weekend.
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Among them were 22 people killed on Sunday in Eringeti, a town 55 kilometres (35 miles) north of the regional hub Beni.
Local authorities blame the massacre on a Ugandan Muslim rebel movement active in the region, the Allied Democratic Forces.
A string of attacks in the past year by both Hutu and Nande militia forces has deepened hatred between the communities.
The Nande and some other ethnic groups regard the Hutus as outsiders because of their attachment to the majority ethnic group in neighbouring Rwanda.
Hutu farmers have also been forced to abandon land further south because of high property costs and under pressure from major landowners.
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