UK aid groups pull back in Congo

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British aid agencies are pulling staff out of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where an advance by rebels is causing people to flee their homes.

Oxfam and other aid agencies said they had decided to evacuate international staff from the city of Goma, which saw gunfire and looting overnight.

Save the Children said the conflict was threatening aid workers' lives.

Rebels say the government is failing to protect a Tutsi minority from Hutus accused of genocide in Rwanda.

The move by the charities comes as the UN voiced deep concern for tens of thousands of people who are fleeing the rebels' advance.

'Human misery'

Juliette Prodhan, head of Oxfam in Congo, urged all armed groups in the conflict to immediately stop fighting, uphold their commitments and return to political dialogue.

"Further violence will only cause more human misery and suffering for people who have already suffered too much," she said.

Access is severely restricted but it is absolutely vital to prevent further loss of life Oliver Behn, Merlin

She added that her organisation's national staff had been advised to stay at home, but that Oxfam was hoping to resume humanitarian work for more than 65,000 people in Goma's camps soon.

Another aid group, Merlin, said it has moved some of its team to safety in a nearby town in Rwanda, but others were staying behind.

Oliver Behn, regional programme manager, said: "Essential staff remain in Goma with the capacity to provide a humanitarian response to vulnerable people, if access and security allow.

"Access is severely restricted but it is absolutely vital to prevent further loss of life," he added.

Supplies cancelled

Save the Children says it has begun a temporary evacuation of staff in the province of North Kivu.

The charity has worked in the area for 14 years, negotiating the release of child soldiers and reuniting children and families.

Hussein Mursal, the charity's director in the country, said: "With the humanitarian crisis worsening day by day, it's vital for us to be able to get help to communities, but the security situation is making it impossible."

He said staff would return as soon as it was safe to do so.

ActionAid, meanwhile, has cancelled its distribution of emergency supplies to 12,000 families at a camp in the North Kivu province.

The organisation called for an immediate and internationally enforced ceasefire and disarmament of warring factions, and guaranteed safe passage for humanitarian workers and assistance to those in need of help.