Thousands displaced after rebel attacks

Up to 5,000 people have been displaced following a Rwandan rebel attack on two civilian camps in a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo province of North Kivu, a humanitarian official said.

"The Force armées pour la libération du Rwanda (FDLR) attacked two camps in Kinyando [on 4 June] where the residents of a neighbouring village had sought refuge after fleeing fighting between the FDLR and the Congolese army," Col. Jean-Paul Dietrich, a spokesperson for the United Nations Mission in the DRC (MONUC) said. Kinyando is located 70 km north of Goma, the main town in the province.

At least six people were killed and another 14 injured in the attack which displaced between 2,000 and 5,000 people, Dietrich said.

The rebel atack was in reaction to military operations launched by the DRC's armed forces against Rwandan rebels in the villages, he said.

The special representative of the UN Secretary General in the DRC, Alan Doss, along with US and European Union representatives in the region condemned the "terrorist" acts against the civilian population. A team had also been sent to the area to assess the situation.

Following increased security after the attacks, some of the displaced people had begun returning to the village, Dietrich said.

The attack took place at a time when the government and two small Rwandan Hutu rebel groups were awaiting the implementation of a roadmap for their disarmament and demobilisation. The roadmap was announced in the town of Kisangani in late May.

The FDLR did not participate in the Kisangani process and has disowned the roadmap.

ei/aw/am