According to the UN peacekeeping mission in the country (MONUSCO), fighting between the DRC armed forces (FARDC) and the Alliance des Patriotes pour un Congo Libre et Souverain (APCLS) on Friday killed some 11 APCLS combatants and injured one FARDC soldier.

Since fighting first began in February, tens of civilians have been killed, including a humanitarian worker, hundreds have been wounded and thousands have been displaced. Thousands who have fled the violence have sought refuge around the UN peacekeeping base in Kitchanga.

MONUSCO said that following the fighting on Friday, the mission has provided protection to about 1,500 civilians.

“The situation is reported to be calm at present but the UN mission continues to monitor the situation and patrol the area,” UN spokesperson Eduardo del Buey told reporters in New York.

MONUSCO is tasked with supporting the Congolese authorities in their stabilization and peace consolidation efforts, including assisting with the holding of elections, the monitoring of human rights violations and support for Government action against armed groups operating in the east of the country.

The UN Security Council last week strengthened MONUSCO’s capacity by authorizing the deployment of an intervention brigade that will carry out targeted offensive operations, with or without the Congolese national army, against armed groups that threaten peace in the eastern part of DRC.

“The UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) reports that, near its base in Kitchanga, North Kivu, heavy fighting took place,” deputy UN spokesperson Eduardo del Buey told journalists in New York.

The situation remains “tense” following the clashes between Congolese armed forces and elements of the Alliance des Patriotes pour un Congo Libre et Souverain (APCLS), an armed group, del Buey added.

At least one civilian was killed and nine other people injured, MONUSCO reported, including one of its peacekeepers, who was shot in the arm and remains in stable condition.

The sheltering of civilians at its base in Kitchanga falls within the Mission’s mandated role to protect civilians, defend human rights and support provisions of humanitarian aid.

Nearly a million people have been displaced in North Kivu by clashes between DRC’s national army and fighters from the rebel M23 group, and in recent weeks, more than 300,000 people have been displaced by additional fighting in the south-eastern province of Katanga.

The M23 rebels are former DRC army troops who mutinied in April 2012, and named themselves after a 23 March 2009 peace agreement that they reportedly say has not been implemented.

To assist MONUSCO ‘blue helmets’ in protecting civilians, the UN Security Council is currently considering a military brigade with peace enforcement authorities beyond traditional UN peacekeeping.

A decision is expected after Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefs the Council next week on recent developments related to the DRC, including the signing of a UN-backed peace framework on 24 February whereby regional countries honour DRC’s sovereignty, and work in support of its stabilization.