Congo Army on Monday reported that four civilians were killed on the fourth day of violence between M23 rebel group and the army in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) tweeted that about 500 people, sought shelter in a convent in Ntamugenga village near the borders of Uganda and Rwanda and need to be evacuated.
The unrest in North Kivu province has broken months of relative calm in eastern Congo following clashes between the army and M23 militants at the end of March.
The group declared a ceasefire in April, and the seven countries of the East African Community trade bloc set up a regional military force to try to stem decades of militant activity in Congo’s mineral-rich east.
National army spokesman, Sylvain Ekenge, said in a statement on Sunday that M23 rebels attacked military posts in Rutshuru territory near the border with Uganda and Rwanda on Thursday.
Four civilians were killed and 40 injured, including children, he added.
M23 spokesman Willy Ngoma and the group’s president Bertrand Bisimwa both posted Twitter posts accusing the army of initiating the violence.