HEAVY fighting has broken out between rival armed forces in a densely forested area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, officials of the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) said. They said RCD forces, backed by Rwanda, were fighting a force of about 5 000 ethnic Hutus, including renegade soldiers of the former Rwandan army. Allied Hutu rebels from Burundi were also involved in the latest fighting, along with Rwandan Interahamwe Hutu rebels who oppose the Rwanda government. – Reuters