The death toll from an attack on a village in Ituri province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday rose to 25, local chiefs and civil society leaders said.

The Congolese Cooperative for Development (CODECO), one of a number of militias operating in the conflict-ridden east, carried out the killings in the village of Garai, 70 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of the city of Bunia. .

Local chief Banzala Danny and civil society leader Vital Tungulo told Reuters that in addition to the 10 bodies found on Saturday, 15 more bodies were found on Sunday.

An internal United Nations document seen by Reuters and Jules Ngongo, spokesman for the governor of Ituri province, confirmed the attack and the initial death toll of 10 civilians.

“We guarantee that all murderers will be punished with justice,” Ngongo said.

The United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) said in a report released in March that the human rights situation in Ituri had worsened since the beginning of the year as CODECO carried out more attacks.

The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and another militia, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), are responsible for most of the killings of civilians in eastern DRC, according to a report released by the United Nations peacekeeping mission in March.