Eighteen civilians and one soldier have been killed in attacks by militia groups in western DR Congo, where sectarian violence has flared since June 2022.

The government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said after a government cabinet meeting, that the civilians were killed in the village of Final in Kimvula, allegedly by the Mobondo militia.

He said one soldier had also been killed and another was still missing alongside the 18 civilians killed, adding that the village had been burned.

The sectarian violence in the region had waned in recent months before flaring in March, with attacks targeting the Teke community by groups not originally