KINSHASA, 8 October 2008 (IRIN) - Thousands of people who fled renewed fighting in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), between government forces and the rebel Congrès National pour la defense du people (CNDP), have yet to be located by aid agencies, a medical charity said.

"Twenty-five thousand people fled to Kayina and Kanyabayonga [120km north of Goma, capital of North Kivu]," Colette Godenne, head of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), told IRIN. MSF was helping at least 100,000 people in Nyanzale and Kabizo, remote areas near Goma.

"Where are the rest? We are really worried about their fate," Godenne said, adding that a large group of people was still hiding in the forest.

Many of the displaced had lost their belongings to the rebels, who also looted medical equipment from health centres near the conflict zones.

According to the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC), violence is escalating in North Kivu. Jean-Paul Dietrich, the MONUC military spokesman, said the regular army had used rockets, shells and heavy artillery against the rebels.

An official casualty tally was not available, since the rebels had retrieved the bodies of their dead, Dietrich said. But the national army had "inflicted huge losses" on the CNDP ranks, he added.

Recently, army officials showed journalists corpses of rebels killed by government forces. However, they declined to officially comment on the ongoing fighting.

Godenne said the humanitarian situation in the area had deteriorated since the fighting began in late-August and assistance to those affected had been hampered by security concerns.

"Most of the humanitarian aid groups that have intervened are stationed near the major roads," she said. "They cannot search for the largest group of displaced people in hiding."

To help those affected, MSF had changed its strategy to provide medical care through mobile clinics. This would also prevent the risk of theft of supplies by the rebels, she added.

Fresh clashes between CNDP and government forces were reported earlier on 8 October in Rutshuru, North Kivu. CNDP officials blamed the Congolese national army for the attack.

"At dawn this morning, in Katale, government forces took the offensive by launching armed attacks and raided us in two combat helicopters," Betrand Bisimwa, a CNDP spokesman said, adding that "our response was immediate".

An unspecified number of people were injured and some were treated at Rutshuru hospital, which is supervised by MSF.

"Since morning, we have received around 30 injured people," Axelle Delamotte Saint Pierre, an MSF official, told IRIN. The number of injured people treated at the hospital had increased since fighting broke out on 28 August, she added.

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