UN Responds to DRC Landslide

United Nations peacekeepers have rushed to the aid of people affected by a landslide in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The landslide, which was caused by an overflowing river near Mount Nyiragongo, claimed at least 46 lives and destroyed up to 200 houses, according to a U.N. news release. The U.N. Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or MONUC, is providing food to the displaced survivors and assisting in the recovery of bodies from the landslide, a spokesperson for the mission said.

MONUC has yet to release an estimate of the total number of people affected by the disaster. Meanwhile, Congolese newspapers put the figure at approximately 5,000, according to the U.N. News Center.