20120729
Press TV
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has called on the UN peacekeeping mission in the war-wracked nation to eliminate rebel groups in the volatile east of the country.


The request was made after Britain and the Netherlands joined the US in withholding aid to Rwanda over its alleged backing of rebels in the DRC, Reuters reported on Friday.

"Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in Nord Kivu province, many of whom sought safety in neighbouring Uganda and Rwanda," spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Andrej Mahecic said.

DRC army troops and rebels clashed again in the east of the country on Wednesday.

Hundreds of people in Nord Kivu were forced to flee toward the city of Goma by road to escape the fighting.

In total, more than 470,000 Congolese have been displaced in the eastern DRC since April.



The UN has more than 17,000 troops in Congo as part of its peacekeeping mission.

The rebels, known as the March 23 movement, defected from the Congolese army in April in protest over alleged mistreatment in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC). They had previously been integrated into the Congolese army under a peace deal signed in 2009.

The mutiny is being led by General Bosco Ntaganda, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on a charge of recruiting child soldiers.

Congo has faced numerous problems over the past few decades, such as grinding poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and a war in the east of the country that has dragged on for over a decade and left over 5.5 million people dead.