UN Says Fighting Has Displaced 4,000 in Eastern DRC

The United Nations says fighting between armed militants and government troops has driven nearly 4,000 people from their homes in Congo's eastern Ituri province.

A spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the region, Floruan Barbey, said the displaced people have taken shelter in a church and school in the town of Fataki, near the provincial capital Bunia.

The spokesman said the militants and government troops engaged in sporadic fighting this week. It was unclear if there were any casualties.

He says the fighters are apparently loyal to rebel leader Peter Karim. Talks are underway between Karim and the government over how to demobilize his forces.

Congo's government is struggling to rebuild following a civil war in which some four million people died, mostly from hunger and disease.

The United Nations has about 17,000 troops in the DRC to assist the government and maintain peace.

By VOA News