In the Mugunga II camp for displaced people oustide Goma in North Kivu, an elderly man burns a fire in order to make charcoal which he can then sell.

A tragic story that never ends. The war in DR Congo is the most deadly conflict to have taken place anywhere on earth since World War II. Bewildering in its complexity, the war officially came to an end in 2003. And yet the killing goes on. At the beginning of 2008, as a ceasefire was signed, a wide-ranging study estimated that the conflict and its associated humanitarian crisis had claimed 5.4 million victims.

The road towards Goma crowded with IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) fleeing violence.

Eight months later, on August 28th, fighting broke out once more in North Kivu, an eastern province which has seen some of the worst violence of recent years. The renewed conflict is between government forces and rebels led by renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda, who claims to be defending the interests of the Tutsi minority. To complicate matters, another militia group, the FDLR, is also involved. They are made up of Rwandan Hutus who fled to Congo after taking part in the genocide of 1994.

A child wears a Bob the Builder t-shirt at one of four IDP camps in the Lake Kivu region. Of the 50,000 or so IDPs at these four camps, more than 50 percent are children.

I was in DRC in september 2008, when the recent fighting broke out. By the end of my visit, more than 100,000 people were forced to flee their homes and villages. Many ended up in schools, churches and outdoor, with nowhere to go.

While the focus the last month or so has been towards the Middle East, the crises in DRC is still critical. There are fighting, civilians ends up in the crossfire and children are left to themselves.

A few days ago, Laurent Nkunda was arrested by Rwandan forces. Will this lead to peace in the troubled province?

See more images on Espen Rasmussen homepage and on Panos Pictures website.

Displaced people pray in their small wooden church in the Mugunga I IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camp.

Soap is distributed at the Mugunga II IDP camp. Soap is undoubtedly important to those displaced, but what everyone really wants is food. They have not received any food supplies for two months.

The road towards Goma crowded with IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) fleeing violence in the towns and villages of Sake, Kirotske, Ngumba, Kilugu, Karuba and Mushaki. Tens of thousands are on the road, fleeing the recent fighting between the rebels and the government army. The lucky ones will be able to settle with relatives in Goma, thousands of others will spend the night in schools, churches and outside.

Displaced people take refuge in a church in the village of Rubare. They have received no assistance since arriving in the church two weeks ago. 4,000 displaced have recently arrived after they fled their village of Ntamugenga.

"I went back to our fields to get some bananas. We are so hungry. But the rebels were waiting for us in the fields and they attacked us. I managed to get away from them but I don't know what happened to the others," says this man displaced by the violence.

A man builds himself a tent in the Mugunga II camp.

18 year old Zawa Antoinette, at the Heal Africa hospital in Goma. "I tried to flee from the fighting in my village, but was caught up in the crossfire. I was shot in my arm." Zawa had to walk the whole way from her village to the hospital carrying her only child.