Several NGOs operating in Ituri, in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Orientale Province, have suspended aid to thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) following Friday's killing of nine UN peacekeepers, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Monday.

Unidentified gunmen shot and wounded several UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo in an ambush on Friday in the village of Kafe, in the northeastern district of Ituri.

Another disarmament transit centre has opened in Bunia, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where at least 3,300 ex-combatants have been disarmed, demobilised and prepared for reintegration into the national army, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) plans to deploy a police brigade in the northeastern district of Ituri to protect civilians from militias, Interior Minister Théophile Mbemba told IRIN on Monday.

Relief aid agencies say they are struggling to provide basic needs to tens of thousands of civilians in Ituri District, in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who have fled their homes because of recent fighting.

A new relief operation has begun in district of Ituri, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to help tens of thousands of people displaced by fighting in January, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported on Monday.

Armed militiamen have burnt down a village in the district of Ituri, in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, forcing at least 1,500 residents to flee to nearby localities, Rudi Sterz, the interim coordinator of German Agro Action in the area told IRIN on Friday. The affected village, She, is 60 km northeast of Bunia, the main town in Ituri.