The governor of Congo's northeast Ituri province says two weeks of intercommunal violence have killed more than 160 people in several villages while many others have fled.

Governor Jean Bamanisa tells The Associated Press that 161 bodies have been found and authorities are still trying to determine the extent of the violence.

Authorities believe the perpetrators were militia fighters from the Lendu community. Congo's military believes they are linked to Mathieu Ngudjolo, who was acquitted of war crimes at the International Criminal Court in 2012.

Untold thousands of people lost their lives in conflicts between the Lendu and Hema communities between 1999 and 2004. U.N. peacekeepers were dispatched to Congo to try to maintain order and remain in the region combatting various rebel groups.