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Congo fighting claims 18 more livesViolence on rise as Ugandan troops make way for U.N.
BUNIA, Congo (CNN) -- Fighting between rival groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo claimed 18 more lives Sunday, a U.N. spokeswoman said. Meanwhile, relief workers tried to get water and food to the estimated 30,0000 of refugees who fled fighting between tribal militias, as calls grew for the United Nations to intervene more forcefully. Fighting between the rival Hema and Lendu ethnic groups in and around Bunia has killed at least 32 people in recent days and driven tens of thousands of civilians from their homes. Of those killed Sunday, three were babies killed with machetes, U.N. spokeswoman Patricia Tome said, and the other 15 died in a mortar attack. The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo [MONUC] has up to 675 troops on the ground, but they have been unable to stem the violence and looting as militias armed with spears, guns and arrows roam the town. The U.N. Security Council was due to review the situation Monday, and aid agencies appealed to the council to find troops and resources able to enforce peace. "In Bunia today there is chaos and confusion and an atmosphere of total panic, and the situation on the ground is changing rapidly," the aid agency Oxfam said in a statement late Saturday. "For a population of 340,000, MONUC have neither the mandate, troops nor equipment to enforce peace and protect civilians effectively in Bunia. MONUC's few troops on the ground have taken action, but the situation is beyond their control." Oxfam International is a confederation of 12 organizations working together in more than 100 countries seeking solutions to poverty, suffering and injustice. South African President Thabo Mbeki, as head of the African Union, planned to ask U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to authorize U.N. troops to use force to defend civilians, his spokesman Bheki Khumalo said in Johannesburg. U.N.: Aid workers passing out food, waterMONUC officials in Bunia said aid workers were able to begin distributing food and water Sunday after another night of fighting. An estimated 8,000 people have gathered at a MONUC base near Bunia airport, a few kilometers from the town. Thousands more were without shelter, hiding in the bush or heading south, while streams of refugees have poured across the border into Uganda. "We have started food distribution mainly at our base near the airport," Tome told Reuters by telephone. She said she was optimistic that medicines and food would be flown into Bunia on Sunday. It was not clear who was controlling Bunia, about 50 miles [80 kilometers] from the Ugandan border. The fighting was sparked by the withdrawal of Ugandan troops who took the town in March, leaving tribal militias to fight for supremacy. The UPC rebel group, led by a Hema militia leader, has also joined in. On Saturday a U.N. spokeswoman told CNN that 14 people, including two priests, were executed amid fighting in Bunia. The executions were carried out Friday by a Lendu militia group wanting to "destabilize the political, peaceful process," Tome said. Warring Congolese factions signed a political settlement last month to end several years of conflict. War broke out in August 1998 when Rwanda and Uganda sent troops to back rebels seeking to oust then-President Laurent Kabila. They accused him of backing insurgents threatening regional security. Kabila was assassinated in January 2001 and was succeeded by his son, Joseph. Violence has increased during the past week with the announcement that Uganda is removing its troops to make way for U.N. peacekeeping forces.
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