Over 30 people have died in the DR Congo violence thus far
Since the beginning of the year, more than 700,000 residents in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu have left their homes.
Boakyewaa Lawrencia 
In the past week, fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has claimed at least 31 lives, including children.
According to the UN, fierce fighting between the Congolese army and several rebel groups has reached the Beni region, where five bodies were found on Wednesday.
Numerous people are still missing, according to locals, thus the death toll may be significantly higher.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 700,000 residents in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu have left their homes.
The overall number of persons displaced by the armed war in DR Congo, which the UN describes as one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, now stands at six million.
The Congolese army is battling dozens of armed rebel groups in the east.
Many of them had been dormant since the end of the country’s civil war in 2003 but have recently re-emerged.
