Several dozen civilians were killed last weekend in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during attacks blamed on Rwandan Hutu rebels.

Citing local sources, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Kinshasa, said that more than 90 people, including some 60 civilians and about 30 soldiers, were killed in an attack in the country's North Kivu province.

The killings took place in an attack on May 9 and 10 on Busurungi, a North-Kivu village located near Sud-Kivu province.

The UN mission to the DR Congo (MONUC) said they were verifying reports of the massacre and making every effort to protect civilians. 

Witnesses have pointed the finger at the Rwandan Hutu rebel group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) which has attacked several villages over the past few weeks.

The attacks have forced a large number of people to leave the village of Busurungi - which has a population of about 15,000 - and head north towards Hombo, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) away, the UN mission said. 

Government soldiers were also reportedly killed and wounded in clashes between the FDLR and Congolese armed forces, according to a spokesman for the Congolese army. 

The Rwandan Hutu rebels have been at the heart of much of the region's violence since 1994, when they allegedly took part in the mass slaughter of Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda before crossing into Congo's lawless east, where they now roam. 

In cooperation with the Rwandan government, the Congolese army began an offensive against the rebels earlier this year However, in recent weeks the Hutus have begun to reclaim much of the territory they lost. Aid organisations have been warning for some time that the rebels might carry out revenge actions on the local population. 

The Congolese army and MONUC are currently planning operations in South-Kivu to neutralise the Rwandan Hutu rebels. 

According to Oxfam, 100,000 people fled their homes in the region even before the start of this new offensive.