BENI, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed in a suicide bomb explosion late Saturday, in the middle of Christmas celebration, in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to the Kivu Security Tracker (KST), a respected monitor on eastern DRC.

The explosion took place around 7 p.m. local time in a bar in the city of Beni of the province of North Kivu, in the middle of Christmas celebration, causing several deaths on the spot, according to witnesses.

"The government condemns the explosion on Christmas of a bomb in a bar in Beni, the work of a suicide bomber. Loss of life is reported. The security services are already deployed," Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya tweeted.

In a communication on the radio without giving more details about the explosion, the mayor of the city of Beni, Muteba Kashale Narcisse, asked the population to stay at home to allow the security and medical team to do their job to evacuate the wounded and secure the area of the attack.

The provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, long troubled by insecurity, have been under siege since May 6 due to violence by armed groups, including rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

Since Nov. 30, the Uganda People's Defense Forces, in collaboration with the Congolese army, has officially launched air and artillery operations against several ADF rebel positions in northeastern DRC.

In June, two bomb blasts, including one carried out by a suicide bomber, hit on the same day the Beni city, causing at least one death and several injuries. Enditem

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