05/16/2013 16:57 GMT
GOMA, DR Congo, May 16, 2013 (AFP) - Violent clashes between rebels and soldiers in the restive east of the Democratic Republic of Congo have left 40 people dead, government and military officials said Thursday.
Fighting broke out between Mai-Mai militia and government troops on Wednesday in the town of Beni, some 250 kilometres (155 miles) north of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, Colonel Richard Bisamaza said.
Government spokesman Lambert Mende told a press conference that 32 militia fighters were killed as well as eight soldiers.