Despite the ongoing peace talks between Rebel leader Laurent Nkunda and UN special envoy Olusegun Obasanjo, renewed fighting broke out in the province of North Kivu.

An estimated 250 000 people have fled their homes due to weeks of fighting between rebels and government troops. The UN says the conflict that began in August has caused a humanitarian catastrophe in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Amnesty International welcomes Australian Federal Government's timely contribution of $5 million for humanitarian aid.

However, as the civilian death toll in DRC continues to rise, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and more than forty other organizations in Africa called on the UN Human Rights Council to convene a special session on the crisis without delay.

For this reason, Amnesty International and other organisations sent out a letter yesterday addressed to Ambassador Martin Uhomoibi, President of the UN Human Rights Council.

Amnesty International will also launch a research mission to western Uganda in late November, to gather testimonies from refugees and people speaking out against human rights violations in DRC.