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| Struggle to aid fleeing Congolese | Struggle to aid fleeing Congolese |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Aid workers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are struggling to cope with a surge of people fleeing recent fighting. | Aid workers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are struggling to cope with a surge of people fleeing recent fighting. |
| A BBC correspondent says they need emergency help - food and shelter, while the UN has started vaccinating children against measles. | A BBC correspondent says they need emergency help - food and shelter, while the UN has started vaccinating children against measles. |
| A ceasefire agreed on Thursday was broken earlier but the area is now quiet, a rebel leader has told the BBC. | A ceasefire agreed on Thursday was broken earlier but the area is now quiet, a rebel leader has told the BBC. |
| The clashes had raised fears of further conflict following a five-year war. | The clashes had raised fears of further conflict following a five-year war. |
| The BBC's Karen Allen in Mugunga, 15km from Goma, says thousands of women with young children on their backs have joined men in tattered clothes trying to get food. | The BBC's Karen Allen in Mugunga, 15km from Goma, says thousands of women with young children on their backs have joined men in tattered clothes trying to get food. |
| More than 10,000 people have fled their homes in the past week. | More than 10,000 people have fled their homes in the past week. |
| Meanwhile, a Russian-made Antonov cargo plane has crashed after landing at Goma airport, with at least five dead. | |
| "The tyres exploded on one side and then blew on the other side as well, and the plane slid into the [petrified] lava at the end of the runway," one witness told Reuters news agency. | |
| Gorilla threat | Gorilla threat |
| Dissident Gen Laurent Nkunda said government forces had attacked his force's positions in Rutshuru, before he informed UN peacekeepers and calm was restored. | Dissident Gen Laurent Nkunda said government forces had attacked his force's positions in Rutshuru, before he informed UN peacekeepers and calm was restored. |
| Rutshuru is in the Virunga National Park, home to endangered mountain gorillas. | Rutshuru is in the Virunga National Park, home to endangered mountain gorillas. |
| Earlier, park rangers were searching for 50 gorillas in four family groups, conservationists told the AFP news agency. | Earlier, park rangers were searching for 50 gorillas in four family groups, conservationists told the AFP news agency. |
| Nine gorillas were killed in the area last month. Just 700 remain - half in Virunga. | Nine gorillas were killed in the area last month. Just 700 remain - half in Virunga. |
| Government forces and UN troops are in control of Sake, which the rebels tried to capture on Thursday, according to a BBC correspondent in the town. | Government forces and UN troops are in control of Sake, which the rebels tried to capture on Thursday, according to a BBC correspondent in the town. |
| Civilians who fled Sake in the past few days are starting to come back, but the town still appears empty, he says. | Civilians who fled Sake in the past few days are starting to come back, but the town still appears empty, he says. |
| Ethnic tension | Ethnic tension |
| UN emergency relief chief John Holmes has described the humanitarian situation in the region as deplorable. | UN emergency relief chief John Holmes has described the humanitarian situation in the region as deplorable. |
| Mr Holmes said fighting was confined to parts of the single province of North Kivu, but warned the crisis might worsen in a large country like DR Congo - the size of western Europe. | Mr Holmes said fighting was confined to parts of the single province of North Kivu, but warned the crisis might worsen in a large country like DR Congo - the size of western Europe. |
| Profile: Gen Nkunda | Profile: Gen Nkunda |
| Some four million people are believed to have died during DR Congo's five-year conflict, which officially ended in 2002. | Some four million people are believed to have died during DR Congo's five-year conflict, which officially ended in 2002. |
| The UN has some 17,000 peacekeepers in DR Congo - the largest such force in the world. | The UN has some 17,000 peacekeepers in DR Congo - the largest such force in the world. |
| In other parts of North Kivu, men loyal to Gen Nkunda have pulled out of villages near the Rwandan border, and were replaced by ethnic Hutu Rwandan rebels. | In other parts of North Kivu, men loyal to Gen Nkunda have pulled out of villages near the Rwandan border, and were replaced by ethnic Hutu Rwandan rebels. |
| Ethnic tension following the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda lies at the heart of the fighting. | Ethnic tension following the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda lies at the heart of the fighting. |
| Gen Nkunda says he is protecting Congolese Tutsis from the forces who carried out the genocide and then crossed the border. | Gen Nkunda says he is protecting Congolese Tutsis from the forces who carried out the genocide and then crossed the border. |
| Elections last year, won by President Joseph Kabila, were supposed to draw a line under years of conflict in DR Congo. | Elections last year, won by President Joseph Kabila, were supposed to draw a line under years of conflict in DR Congo. |