DRC: UN patrols beefed up after Ituri clashes

United Nations forces in the volatile north-eastern Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Saturday stepped up their patrols, a day after they killed at least 10 militia in clashes there, a UN spokesperson said. The UN force is in charge of peacekeeping in the province, which has been beset for several years by brutal ethnic violence between the Lendu and the minority Hema ethnic group. Periodic Lendu-Hema violence in Ituri, which is rich in gold and diamonds, has caused 50 000 deaths and displaced 500 000 people since 1999.