ISLAMIC State-linked militia attacked a village in conflict-battered eastern DR Congo killing at least nine villagers, a local official and residents said Sunday.

The attack on Saturday in the village of Ngohi Vuyinga in North Kivu province’s Lubero territory also displaced dozens and several houses burned down, according to Samuel Kagheni, a local civil society leader.

Militia with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an IS affiliate in the region, attacked the villagers with guns and machetes while they were at their farms, Mr Kagheni said.

He added: “Yesterday’s toll could rise because there were even some missing people.”

Eastern DR Congo has been battered by decades of violence, with more than 100 armed groups vying for control of the region’s rich minerals. 

Among them are Rwanda-backed militia who recently captured two major cities in another part of the region.

The violence has resulted in about seven million people being displaced, making it the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

The latest attack renewed safety concerns among locals who accused the government of not doing enough to stop the conflict.

“The peaceful population is still being killed, but there is no intervention on the government side,” said Cesar Kambale, a youth leader of the nearby Vuyinga village.

“Is our army, the Fardc (Congolese armed forces) really leading offensives against this enemy? … Every day people are attacked, civilians are killed under the helpless eye of our Fardc,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Congolese government has put out a reward of £4 million for the arrest of three leaders of the Rwanda-backed M23 militia group.