Democratic Republic of Congo ? Rebels seized an east Congo army base and the headquarters of a refuge housing some of the world’s last mountain gorillas, in heavy fighting Sunday that sent thousands of civilians fleeing, U.N. officials and rebels said.

An unknown number of soldiers, rebels and civilians were killed in the renewed fighting in North Kivu province, according to civilians who said the onslaught began around 2 a.m.

Government troops raced down the road north from the provincial capital of Goma to reinforce a counterattack Sunday morning. One tank careened into a group of fleeing civilians and killed three teenage boys, civilians said.