GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Ethnic clashes between Hema herders and Lendu farmers in the northeastern province of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo have killed more than 40 people, local officials said Friday.

Tensions between the groups have been largely dormant since their battles from 1998 to 2003 left thousands of people dead, but violence has flared again in recent months because of disputes over land.

At least 30 people were killed in two days of clashes last month between armed Hema and Lendu.

Militia activity has increased across eastern Congo’s borderlands near Uganda and Rwanda in the past year, stoked in part by President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to step down in December 2016 as required by the Constitution.

Alfred Ndrabu, a member of the Roman Catholic Church’s Justice and Peace Commission in Ituri, said a colleague in the village of Maze had counted 49 bodies from Thursday’s clashes, which continued into Friday morning.