KIGALI, Rwanda 

United Nations peacekeepers have discovered mass graves in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo containing the bodies of 42 civilians, a UN spokesman said Wednesday. 

The victims, including 12 women and six children, were discovered in the village of Nyamamba in Ituri province, about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) east of the provincial capital Bunia, according to Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Peacekeepers found another grave with the bodies of seven men in the village of Mbogi in the same province.

The graves were discovered after investigations by the UN mission in the DR Congo, known as MONUSCO, following reports that militants from the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO) rebel group attacked civilians in the area over the weekend, said Haq, adding “this is when they made the gruesome discoveries.”

The UN mission called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice and committed to support the Congolese judicial system to investigate the attacks.

“These incidents occurred amidst a significant deterioration of the security situation in Djugu and Mahagi territories,” Haq said.

Since December 2022, at least 195 civilians have been killed, 68 injured and 84 others abducted during several incidents attributed to CODECO and Zaire armed groups, according to the UN.

Recent attacks have increased the number of displaced people to more than 1.5 million in Ituri and reduced access for humanitarian workers to those in need of assistance.

CODECO, which claims to defend members of the Lendu community, were last year accused of taking hostage President Felix Tshisekedi’s peace envoys who were on a mission to negotiate a cease-fire and the demobilization of militiamen in Ituri.

Last year, a large-scale massacre attributed to CODECO militiamen left 62 people dead in an attack on a camp for displaced people. ​​​​​​​