A dozen civilians were killed by armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in two separate attacks in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces, local sources said Thursday.

Seven bodies were found on Thursday in the Beni region near the Ugandan border, a local official told an AFP correspondent.

At least 386 civilians have been killed since November in the Beni region in attacks attributed to the ADF, experts from the Kivu Security Barometer (KST) said on 27 April.

For the first time in months, the Islamic state “province of Central Africa” on Thursday claimed responsibility for two attacks in the same region of Beni, according to the specialist site Intelligence group.

Young people blocked the road and the border with Uganda on Thursday to protest against the insecurity, the same local official said.