The renewed violence between the Hutu, Nande and Hundu ethnic groups in the Rutshuru Territory of Congo's North Kivu province is motivated by the desire to control land replete with minerals. "We have recorded the deaths of 16 civilians and seven militiamen since Sunday," Francois Bakundakabo, an aide to the country's provincial governor, told AFP. Hope Sabini, Deputy Provincial Governor, said that the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia group attacked several villages in Rutshuru area over several days,

He said nineteen civilians were killed as well as eight rebels. Eastern DRC has been a theatre of ethnic violence for 20 years, fuelled in part by the desire to control valuable mineral resources and farmland.
The death toll from clashes between militias in the Rutshuru Territory of the North Kivu province, DR Congo, rises to 23 people. The renewed violence has been ongoing since February 25.