Voter registration starts in rebel-hit eastern DR Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo's electoral board reports that voter registration has begun in seven provinces in the country's eastern region, where violence between the army and rebels has displaced millions of residents.

The general elections are slated for December of this year, and this is the final round of voter registration.

Voters will be registered in the unstable provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, as well as in the US and Canada, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

At least 12 million individuals have registered to vote nationwide since voter registration began in December, according to the commission.

The violence in the eastern part of the country is estimated to have displaced some 5.6 million people who are in dire need of food and shelter, according to the UN