At least 35 people have been killed and several others injured in an attack on a gold mine in Ituri, in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local sources reported.

Local officials said that 29 bodies had been retrieved, while another six burnt bodies had been found buried at the site.

Among the dead was a four-month-old baby, the officials added.

Gold-rich Ituri province has been plunged back into a cycle of violence since late 2017.

At least 1,200 civilians were killed by armed groups in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, according to the United Nations. (ILKHA)