Armed villagers have killed at least 47 policemen who tried to intervene in ethnic clashes in northern Democratic Republic of Congo, a UN sponsored radio has reported. According to SkyNews, an unknown number of civilians also died in the violence, which erupted in the village of Dongo. People from neighbouring villages representing two different ethnic groups have been involved in on-and-off fighting for months. Congo’s Information Minister, Lambert Mende said the death toll had been exaggerated and that the incident was sparked by a local government official, who was recently removed from his post for inciting community tensions. The violence has no links to summering tensions in Congo’s east, which is the country’s most unstable region.
