Rand 23,000 people have fled their homes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after renewed fighting broke out between rebels and the Congolese army in the north-east of the country. Around 2,500 people have left DR Congo for Uganda since the outbreak of violence on Thursday, the UN Emergency Relief Office for Congo wrote on Twitter on Sunday evening.
According to the information, 186,000 people have been displaced since March as a result of fighting between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese army. According to information from the United Nations, the M23 rebels are supported by neighboring Rwanda.
The Rutshuru region in North Kivu province, bordering Rwanda and Uganda, is rich in mineral resources. According to the United States, around 130 armed rebel groups are active there. The DR Congo with its approximately 90 million inhabitants has copper, cobalt, gold and diamonds.
The Congolese army defeated the M23 rebels in 2013. Since the end of March, however, the rebel movement has been attacking civilians and military installations again in eastern DR Congo, as well as fighting with the Congolese army.