United Nations Radio

The UN food agency (WFP) warns that greater numbers of people fleeing fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are stretching the agency's resources to the limit as thousands gather in camps in search of safety.

The World Food Programme says despite a peace agreement signed in January this year, North Kivu province remains a tinderbox of intimidation and violence, with at least 100,000 people forced from their homes in recent months in the Rutshuru district alone.

This brings the total displacement since March to over half a million.

WFP says it has already cut rations in half to some displaced people in an effort to reach those most in need at the heart of the current conflict zone in the mountainous hinterland.

The head of WFP's operations in the DRC Charles Vincent says "thousands more people have run for their lives in recent months and are now in urgent need of help."

This is Donn Bobb reporting for United Nations Radio.

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