Thousands flee Congo fighting

Widespread fighting between rebel groups in north eastern Congo over the past month has forced more than 155,000 people to flee their homes, an aid group said today.

In the past four days alone, heavy artillery fire has forced 35,000 from the town of Makeke towards Beni, headquarters of the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Liberation Movement, or RCD-ML, said the medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres.