Thousands of civilians have been forced out of a town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after fighting between rebels and a pro-government militia, which came despite a ceasefire, DPA reported. The UN said that rebel General Laurent Nkunda's National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) clashed Tuesday and Wednesday with the pro-government Mai-Mai militia. The CNDP then forced thousands of civilians out of Kiwanja, northeastern DR Congo under the pretext of searching for remaining militia, a BBC correspondent in the town said. Aid agencies say that renewed fighting between the CNDP and government forces has displaced at least 250,000 people since late August. As many as 50,000 of these people fled during four days of fighting last week, many of them to in and around Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province. The CNDP called a ceasefire last Wednesday after it routed the Congolese army and came on the verge of taking Goma, but aid agencies are warning of a humanitarian catastrophe. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, which on Wednesday began a "massive food distribution" to displaced North Kivu, warned that the fresh fighting could jeopardise the delivery of aid.
