Civilians flee fighting

2004-04-30 12:13

Nairobi - At least 2 000 people have fled their homes in eastern Congo since fighting between Rwandan rebels and the Congolese army broke out over a week ago, a United Nations spokesperson said on Thursday.

"There have been several attacks against the civilian population, including cases of sexual violence," Lucia Alberghini, with the UN Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The attacks have mainly taken place between Bukavu and Uvira in eastern Congo, an area near the border with Burundi and Rwanda.

Several clashes between the Congolese army and the Rwandan Hutu rebels have been reported in the area recently, however the exact number of casualties remains unclear.

The Rwandan Hutu rebels include many members of the Interahamwe militia which fled to Congo after leading the 1994 genocide in Rwanda in which over 800 000 people were slaughtered.

Under a July 2002 peace accord between Rwanda and Congo, Rwanda promised to withdraw troops from eastern DRC. In return, the Kinshasa government pledged to disarm and arrest Rwandan Hutu rebels. However, Rwanda has complained that Congo did not fulfil its part of the deal. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA