Shelling continues over the weekend

Shelling continued in Brazzaville on Sunday but the government said it had blocked an attempt by Ninja rebels to infiltrate the city. The shelling and machine gun fire was lighter at the weekend after serious fighting erupted on Thursday and Friday in the two southern districts of Bacongo and Makelekele, agencies reported. State television said armed forces chief General Yves Mutondo Mungonge had been replaced by General Jacques-Ivan Ndulu, but gave no explanation. 30,000 displaced in northern suburbs Humanitarian sources told IRIN there are some 30,000 displaced people living in camps in the northern part of the city. They are totally dependent on humanitarian aid. Enough food and medical supplies have arrived to last them until the end of February. But aid workers said malnutrition is a problem. In the Pool region of southern Congo-Brazzaville, the humanitarian needs of the displaced are thought to be “very serious”. However, the region is virtually inaccessible to aid workers and there is little hard evidence. Meanwhile, Pointe-Noire was without power on Saturday after a brief restoration of supplies.