UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 25-- The UN Security Council on Tuesday strongly condemned the massacres of civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), urging the country's government and the UN mission there to permanently reduce threats against civilians.

A UN press statement said these attacks have killed more than 200 civilians since mid-October in eastern region of the country.

About 100 people, mostly women and children, were massacred last week in the restive east of the DRC. The mass slaughter occurred near the town of Beni in the North Kivu province, where a series of attacks by Ugandan rebels have left around 200 dead in recent months.

In the statement, the council members expressed their deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and underlined the need to identify those responsible for these attacks and to hold them accountable.

The 15-nation council recalled that "it was of the utmost importance" that the government and the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), "in accordance with its mandate in Security Council resolution 2147 (2014), permanently reduce threats against civilians, immediately redouble efforts to provide proactive protection of civilians and neutralize armed groups still operating in eastern DRC."

The council members also condemned attacks targeted against peacekeepers of MONUSCO, emphasizing that any effort to undermine the mission's ability to implement its mandate will not be tolerated and that those responsible for threats or attacks against peacekeepers must be held accountable.

"The members of the Security Council reiterated their support for MONUSCO and called on all parties to cooperate fully with the mission and to remain committed to the full and objective implementation of the mission's mandate," the statement said.

In addition to the Allied Defense Forces (ADF), the most powerful UN body reiterated the call for the neutralization of the FDLR (Forces Democratiques pour la Liberation du Rwanda) militia in line with relevant Security Council resolutions and statements.