'55 dead' in Congo massacre

Dozens of tribal fighters have attacked a village in northeastern Congo killing up to 55 people, looting property and setting huts on fire

UN troops sent to investigate the attack in Katchele, a village in Ituri province, saw the bodies of 23 civilians, mainly women, children and the elderly, lying on the ground, said Isabelle Abric, a spokeswoman for the UN mission in Congo.

Residents claimed another 32 people killed in the attack were buried in the village.

She said the victims were from the Hema tribe and it was suspected that fighters from the rival Lendu tribe carried out the attack.

The region has been beset by fighting, massacres and reprisal killings since 1999, a year after the civil war in Congo erupted.

The attack was the first reported large-scale killing in Ituri since the beefed-up UN force replaced a French-led emergency force on September 1.