UNITED NATIONS, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Fresh fighting between forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the M23 armed group on Wednesday blocked aid distribution in Rutshuru, UN humanitarians said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said UN agencies and partners reached the town of Rutshuru, in eastern DRC, on Tuesday to deliver food, non-food items and medicine, only to have distribution of the relief blocked by fighting.

"The United Nations and humanitarian partners call for unhindered access to affected areas to provide emergency response to thousands of people, whose situation could deteriorate further if assistance is delayed due to insecurity," OCHA said.

Rutshuru Territory has been volatile over the last 10 days, the office said. Fighting since March 28 displaced as many as 46,000 people within the region and into Uganda.

However, UN humanitarians said more than 10,000 of the 46,000 people displaced by the March 28 clashes were able to return to their homes by Sunday.

The office said the UN agencies reaching Rutshuru included the International Organization of Migration, the UN Refugee Agency, the World Food Program and OCHA. Non-governmental organization representatives also arrived in the territory Tuesday. Enditem

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