Even before civilians who fled fighting between the national army and forces loyal to dissident General Laurent Nkunda in North Kivu province, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, could return to their homes after a truce, another outbreak of violence was reported in the area.

Militias known as Mai Mai clashed with other armed groups on 9 September in the villages of Kitshanga and Bwila, about 100km northwest of Goma, the main town in North Kivu, according to Colonel Delphin Kahindi, the deputy commander of the Congolese army in the province.

The fighting between the national army and fighters loyal to Nkunda forced an estimated 40,000 people to flee their homes during the first week of September. Most of the fighting occurred around the towns of Sake and Rumangabo.

A truce negotiated by the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC) later took effect.

MONUC spokesman, Maj Gabriel de Brosses, said the fighting on 9 September was between a Congolese armed group and the Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), made up of troops responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

De Brosses had on 7 September said that those who fled Sake were waiting for the security situation to stabilise before returning to their homes.

The UN humanitarian coordinator, John Holmes, who visited DRC in the first week of September, urged all parties to the conflict in North Kivu to respect humanitarian law.

"The United Nations calls upon all parties to the conflict in North Kivu to respect fundamental humanitarian principles. All armed groups should allow humanitarian workers, who are bringing aid to vulnerable populations in need, unconditional and free access. Moreover, all armed groups should refrain from targeting civilians," Holmes told reporters in Kinshasa. He also appealed to the government to protect the entire civilian population.