KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Members of a militia ambushed and then beheaded about 40 police officers on Friday in a central province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said on Saturday.

In recent months, the provinces in the Kasai region, in south-central Congo, have been the scene of fighting between the police and a local tribal militia called Kamuina Nsapu. Violence in the area has claimed more than 300 lives since August and displaced more than 200,000 people.

Military authorities reported on Friday that they had lost contact with a police convoy from the capital, Kinshasa, that was making its way toward Kananga, southeast of the capital.

François Kalamba, the speaker of the Kasai provincial assembly, confirmed on Saturday that the convoy had been ambushed by Kamuina Nsapu fighters between the city of Tshikapa and Kananga, and that about 40 officers had been decapitated.