Photograph by: ROBERTO SCHMIDT
Credit: AFP

Those arrested late on Saturday in Dongo, in the country's northwest, had fired on police as they approached, but no one was hurt, said Lambert Mende.

"About 100 young people carrying guns and knives have been detained and disarmed," he said. "There was an attempt to resist and shots were fired, but there were no victims."

Fighting on October 30 between the Enyele and Boba tribes in DR Congo's Equateur province sent more than 16000 people fleeing to the neighbouring Republic of Congo, the UN refugee agency has said. Those arrested, from the Enyele tribe, are accused of having killed about 60 people and causing about 40 injuries.

The two tribes have been in conflict for years over control of a lake in the Dongo area.

"The town of Dongo has been deserted," Mende said. "Huts have been burned and there was widespread looting. There are still dead bodies on the road. It's total devastation."