Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

DRC: Civilians displaced as army and rebels clash again in Rutshuru
04 Sep 2008 15:39:24 GMT
Source: IRIN
KINSHASA, 4 September 2008 (IRIN) - Fresh clashes broke out on 3 September between government troops and rebel forces in Rutshuru district in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, prompting civilians to flee their homes.

"There was an exchange of heavy weapons fire in the village of Ntamugenga from yesterday afternoon until this morning," resident Benjamin Mbusa told IRIN on 4 September.

The UN Mission in DRC, MONUC, which has been the target of protests by Rutshuru residents, confirmed that fighting had resumed.

The army "retook Ntamugenga, which had been under the control of the CNDP", said MONUC's military spokesman, Col Jean-Paul Dietrich, referring to the National Congress for the Defence of the People, led by renegade general Laurent Nkunda.

"There were also some exchanges of gunfire in the Rugari region," he added.

Humanitarian workers in the area said the renewed fighting had caused some civilian displacement, but precise details were not immediately available.

MONUC-run Radio Okapi reported that civilians had been seen heading in the direction of Rubare.

Officials in the 8th military region accused the CNDP of attacking their positions in villages such as Rutchiro, Bushegere, Kahungu, Muhimbira and towards the hills of Karika.

On 3 September, at least one person was wounded and a MONUC vehicle damaged during a demonstration against peacekeepers in the town of Rutshuru.

One witness said the town's residents resented MONUC's efforts to maintain a buffer zone between the two sides, in line with a January peace pact, and rather wanted the national army to repel Nkunda's forces.

ei/am

© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org


AlertNet news is provided by

Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Refugees & displacement

MORE >>

Emergencies

•  Congo (DR) conflict

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  Lutheran World Relief Provides Emergency Assistance in Philippines
LWR - USA

•  Save the Children Continues to Help Displaced Families Following Hurricane Gustav
Save the Children - International Alliance

•  Georgia/Russian Federation: ICRC shifts focus to long-term recovery
ICRC - Switzerland

•  Thousands of families at risk in Bihar floods, warns Oxfam
Oxfam GB - UK

•  MAG's CWMD global update - July 2008
MAG - UK

MORE >>

Latest news

•  DRC: Civilians displaced as army and rebels clash again in Rutshuru

•  SOMALIA: IDPs plead for help in southern town

•  Internal displacement to urban areas: the Tufts-IDMC profiling study

•  Militants stage anti-India rally in Pakistani Kashmir

•  INTERVIEW-East Congo risks plunging back into war - U.N.

MORE >>
IRIN news

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-03T204212Z_01_DEL52_RTRIDSP_2_INDIA-FLOODS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/DEL52.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-03T180256Z_01_DEL54_RTRIDSP_2_INDIA-FLOODS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/DEL54.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-03T175038Z_01_DEL62_RTRIDSP_2_INDIA-FLOODS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/DEL62.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-03T174907Z_01_DEL61_RTRIDSP_2_INDIA-FLOODS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/DEL61.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-09-03T174735Z_01_DEL58_RTRIDSP_2_INDIA-FLOODS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/DEL58.htm

A flood-affected man takes a nap outside a flood relief camp in Jankinagar village of Purniya district in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, September 3, 2008. In Bihar, the floods ...



Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Thu Sep 4 15:55:30 2008