UN says 70 people hacked to death in eastern Congo

KINSHASA, Congo – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo says that at least 70 people were killed in the Masisi territory of troubled eastern Congo.

In a statement, the U.N. said that the majority of the victims were hacked to death with machetes.

A peacekeeping mission team is now on the ground to verify the allegations. The U.N. did not specify when the attack in the villages of Nyamaboko I and II occurred.

In New York, United Nations spokesman Martin Nesirky said the U.N. mission is "concerned."

Masisi, a mineral-rich area of North Kivu province in eastern Congo, has been in the crosshairs of Congo's conflict for years. Numerous armed groups are active there.