The DR Congo army said Sunday it had killed 23 militiamen and retaken one of their few remaining fiefdoms in the northeastern Ituri region in a Friday skirmish.

"Following these clashes the army neutralised 23 militiamen from the Codeco armed group and recovered a bastion at Bese" some 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the provincial capital Bunia, Lieutenant Jules Ngongo told AFP.

The Cooperative for the Development of Congo (Codeco) are one of dozens of armed groups spread across the conflict-wracked country. Its members are mainly drawn from the Lendu ethnic group, who are predominantly farmers, and clash repeatedly with the Hema community of traders and herders in Ituri - a region rich in gold and oil.