FDLR rebels were blamed for attacks on the villages of Ekingi and Busurungi in Congo's eastern South Kivu province. More than 90 people were killed at Ekingi, including 60 civilians and 30 government troops, and "dozens more" were said to be killed at Busurungi. The FDLR were blamed by the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; the UN's peacekeeping force, MONUC, and the Congolese Army are investigating the attacks. The FDLR had attacked several other villages in the preceding weeks and clashes occurred between FDLR forces and the Congolese Army, during which government forces are reported to have lost men killed and wounded. The most recent attacks have forced a significant number of people from their homes in Busurungi to Hombo, north. Another offensive against the FDLR rebel group by Congo and Rwanda, this time with the UN's backing, was announced in early May. This drew derision from aid agencies such as Oxfam. Oxfam's DR Congo head Marcel Stoessel stated that, "Four months ago an offensive against the FDLR set in train a spiral of violence against civilians which has forced 250,000 to flee their homes and caused untold death and suffering that continues to this day", adding, "the UN needs to be aware of the full implications of continuing to support military action in the present circumstances." The joint-operation is part of an ongoing UN-backed rapprochement between the Congolese government and Rwanda. According to news media, improved relations between the two countries would enable MONUC, the region's peacekeeping force, to leave. Also, Rwandan President Paul Kagame stated that, "I do not understand Nkunda to be the cause of the problem... The problem is much bigger than one individual." Rwanda had been reluctant to release Nkunda, who it had arrested in January, to the Congolese government, where Nkunda would face the death penalty. Efficiency of humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts Peacekeeping The 17,000-strong MONUC peacekeeping force was regarded as failing to protect civilians and halt the progress of the rebels, who captured multiple U.N. field bases. MONUC's head, Alan Doss, stated that the U.N. troops were "certainly stretched... there's only so much we can do." The European Union was in the midst of talks related to sending reinforcements. Despite the presence of UN peacekeepers approximately 250,000 people were displaced by the conflict, bringing the total displaced person count to 2 million. The forces were also stated to be