Congo refugees are leaving unsanitary camps. Unsanitary conditions at camps are forcing thousands of Congo refugees to flee the havens and return to dangerous areas controlled by rebels, reports CNN. Even though the refugees had left villages where many were killed and raped as recently as a week ago, the lack of water, food or sanitation at the camps was too much to bear. There are many others, though, who are continuing to flee their homes due to rebel fighting, leaving aid centers overwhelmed. International officials traveled to the country to assess the situation. “The immediate needs are obvious. We saw them yesterday. The cease-fire last Wednesday needs to be bolstered,” British Secretary David Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a joint statement. “The humanitarian needs for food, shelter, water and health care must be met through universal provision and secure routes for delivery.” After four days of fighting last week, rebel forces from the National Congress for the Defense of the People called a ceasefire Wednesday. And they appear to be following through with it, although troops from both sides have been seen gathering near the cease-fire line, reports CNN. The rebels, who are Tutsis, are at odds with the government because they feel they aren’t doing enough to protect the group from attacks from the country’s majority Hutus.

Fighting between Dominicans and Haitians flares up. Fighting near the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic has been on the rise recently, reports Caribbean Net News. In Guayubin, a town in the Dominican Republic that sits near the Haitian border, a large mob of Dominicans burned down a Haitian shantytown.  About 30 houses were set ablaze during the rampage and people were forced to run away in fear. The act of violence was in retaliation for the murder of a Dominican farmer, who was allegedly killed by a Haitian immigrant.  And just on Monday more violence from Dominicans seeking revenge (this time because of a Haitian who allegedly stabbed a Dominican taxi driver as he was allegedly trying to steal his motorcycle) resulted in two Haitians being killed and more injured. The governments of both nations are appealing to citizens to be peaceful, especially in the border towns. Police presence in the area has also been elevated.

U.S. official nix African refugee program. The U.S. State Department has ended a program that allowed African refugees with family members in the United States because DNA tests proved that many of the Africans were not really related. The program, established nearly two decades ago to assist people trying to escape political unrest and violence, accepted close relatives, including parents and children, of people already here. Most of the refugees flowed through Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Gambia. Of the 3,000 who were tested, most were originally from Somalia, Ethiopia, or Liberia, according to the State Department. “The program has been suspended,” said State Department spokesman Robert Wood, noting that only about fifth of applicants from those countries had actual blood ties.

Worker is fired after hanging a noose at a children’s hospital. Authorities in Philadelphia are investigating a potential hate crime after finding a noose swinging in an electrical shop at The Children’s Hospital. The alleged culprit has been fired for the Aug. 11 incident, hospital officials announced this week, but they refused to disclose his name, which has infuriated some residents. The fired member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers allegedly hung a noose on a light fixture on the 13th floor of the Aberson Pediatric Research Center. According to FOX News 29, the worker’s colleagues had asked him at least three times to remove the racially offensive symbol. Children’s Hospital released a statement to the news channel that says: “We believe this to be a blatantact of racial intimidation, for which we have ZERO tolerance at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. This has not happened before and was an isolated incident.” Jerry Mondesire, who heads the local chapter of the NAACP, says he believes the hospital handled the situation the right way.