Mayanga said seven bodies, including those of three women, have been collected so far, and that five more victims have been reported elsewhere. The mayor blamed the Allied Democratic Forces rebel group for the attack.

At least 10 civilians have been killed in an attack by suspected Islamist rebels near the city of Beni in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local authorities and a United Nations source said.

The attackers fired guns at people who were working in fields in the Mulekera community outside Beni, Mulekera Mayor Ngongo Mayanga said Saturday.

One man who witnessed the attack on Friday said he was working in a field when he heard bullets shortly after parting from his daughter-in-law.

“My daughter-in-law went in the opposite direction, but unfortunately that was when she was killed,” he said, describing how he fled into the forest and spent the night there out of fear of the attackers.

Mayanga said seven bodies, including those of three women, have been collected so far, and that five more victims have been reported elsewhere. “Certainly, there are other bodies that we will find as the search continues,” he said

The mayor blamed the Allied Democratic Forces rebel group for the attack.

The ADF, which originates from neighbouring Uganda, is based in eastern DRC and has pledged allegiance to Islamic State. The group mounts frequent attacks, further destabilising a region where many militant groups are active.

Decades of conflict between the army and numerous rebel groups have destabilised eastern Congo and fueled a long-running humanitarian crisis in the Central African country.