Fighting between Hutu and Nande ethnic militias in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 17 civilians and one police officer, in a sign of worsening insecurity across the vast country.
"Some were killed by gunshots and others by machetes," Captain Guillaume Djike told Reuters.
Innocent Gasigwa, a local activist, said the clashes involved the predominantly ethnic Nande "Mai Mai Mazembe" militia and mostly Hutu "Nyatura" fighters.
Separately Human Rights Watch (HRW) said security forces killed at least 34 people during protests this week against President Joseph Kabila's refusal to step down at the end of his mandate.
Congo's capital Kinshasa and other cities were convulsed by violent demonstrations on Tuesday as Kabila, in power since 2001, reached the end of his second term in office without an election in place to choose his successor.
HRW's Central Africa director said on Twitter that the deaths, including 19 in the capital Kinshasa and five in the southeastern mining hub of Lubumbashi, happened at protests early on Tuesday and HRW was verifying reports of more deaths.
Congo's government says 22 people were killed in the clashes, including a police officer, most of them by stray bullets or while looting.
