CLASHES IN EASTERN DR CONGO !

Thousands of people have fled from clashes in the east of DR Congo between government troops and soldiers allied to a renegade general, the UN says.
A UN spokeswoman said rebels loyal to General Laurent Nkunda battled for five hours to seize a military base in Nord Kivu province early on Thursday.
Several people were hit by bullets but the army did not confirm casualties.
About 165,000 people have fled clashes between government forces and rebels since January.
The rebels were members of a mixed brigade created to integrate rebels into the Congolese army, but which fell apart after a series of desertions.

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The attack, by about 1,500 rebels, targeted a military base in Masisi, a few kilometres from the city of Goma.
"Monuc [the UN mission in DR Congo] has reinforced its troops in Masisi and spent the night ceaselessly calling on both sides to end hostilities", UN spokeswoman Sylvie van den Wildenberg told AFP news agency.
General Nkunda has been leading a rebellion in the east against the country's elected government, which he accuses of promoting ethnic hatred.
The dissident general argues that his troops are protecting the ethnic Tutsis from an extremist Hutu militia accused of leading the 1994 Rwandan genocide, who operate freely in the east.
The government has called off operations against the militias, sparking protests from General Nkunda and the Rwandan government.
Last Friday the UN warned that increasing violent unrest in the east of the country could spark a huge increase in the numbers of people fleeing the fighting.
And last month, UN peacekeeping head Jean-Marie Guehenno warned that forces allied to General Nkunda posed a serious threat to stability in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Last year's historic elections, which saw Joseph Kabila elected president, were supposed to mark the end of years of conflict and mismanagement in DR Congo.

BBC NEWS REPORT.