A MONUSCO patrol in the wake of attacks by militia group CODECO in Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) Ituri province found mass graves containing 42 bodies.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for United Nations (UN) secretary general Antonio Guterres, said there were 12 women and six children in the 42 body mass grave with peacekeepers discovering a second with seven dead men. All, according to him, are civilians.

The graves are in Nyamamba and Mbogi, 30km east of Bunia.

The discovery of the graves came during what Haq said is “a significant deterioration of the security situation” in the Djugu and Mahagi territories.

MONUSCO, the UN mission in DRC, reports at least 195 civilians killed, 68 injured and 84 abducted since the start of December in incidents attributed to “COEDCO and Zaire armed groups”.

The latest round of attacks has increased the number of displaced people in Ituri province to over 1.5 million as well as hampering access for humanitarian aid workers to assist those most in need.

• A Tell report