Kinshasa - September 21, 2008 - After the intense clashes which took place yesterday in Sake heights, some 20km from Goma, capital of North Kivu, a relative calm was observed in the zone this Sunday, even if the situation remained tense.

Early this morning, some exchanges of gunfire took place on the hills overlooking Sake and in Kimoka, a locality a few kms east of Sake, between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and the Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP).

The responsibility for these skirmishes could not be established with certainty, but it is without question partly ascribable to the proximity of the forces on the ground.

In addition, MONUC exerted a pressure on the CNDP troops to immediately withdraw to new positions occupied since yesterday's clashes on the Sake heights. The situation slightly slackened once this withdrawal commenced.

While supervising the latest withdrawal, MONUC forces remain ready to react to any new rise in tension, and have maintained a strong presence near the displaced persons camps on the Sake-Goma road.

In Rutshuru territory, the situation as a whole remained relatively calm but tense, and brief exchanges of gunfire between the FARDC and the CNDP were reported in the surroundings of Rugarama, some 25km north of Rutshuru town, some sixty km north of Goma.

MONUC reinforced its presence in this zone, and in particular close to several displaced persons camps. Blue Helmets based in Rusthusu have been redoubling their efforts to repair the infrastructures of drinkable water, which were sabotaged yesterday by CNDP troops.

In Masisi territory, the situation remained calm this Sunday, but some 15,000 displaced people remain concentrated around the Blue Helmets Mobile Operational Base in Masisi centre.

The humanitarian community in North Kivu continuous to redouble efforts to try to evaluate the needs of those newly displaced in order to bring them assistance, following the confrontations of these last weeks.

Many displaced people are in an extremely precarious situation. The clashes since August 28 last have caused the displacement of an estimated 100,000 people in the province, and along the border with South Kivu.