The World Food Program says fighting in Congo's North Kivu province has driven some 200,000 people from their homes since August. The United Nations earlier had reported half that number was displaced recently in the eastern area, where fighters loyal to warlord Laurent Nkunda skirmish regularly with militia groups and the army, Associated Press reported. A 18,000-strong U.N. force has failed to halt fighting in the vast region of rural hills and forests. The U.N. agency's director in Geneva says between 1.4 million and 2 million people have been uprooted since 2007 in North Kivu. Charles Vincent says many are malnourished and some have died of hunger. He said Friday the agency needs $46 million to buy 33,000 tons of food for the country through March.
