The U.N. refugee agency reports more than sixteen thousand civilians have fled ethnic violence in the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The UNHCR says the refugees crossed the Oubangui River into neighboring Republic of Congo to find safety after their villages were burned. The agency reports the mass exodus from the DRC's remote Equateur Province took place last week. It says ethnic clashes broke out between the Enyele and Munzaya tribes over farming and fishing rights in the village of Dongo.<br/><br/>UNHCR spokesman, Andrej Mahecic, says 60 people were killed, and the deadly fighting spread to surrounding villages, several of which were burned. He says 40 other people were seriously injured and some are being treated in hospital.<br/><br/>Before the current influx, the UNHCR spokesman says the Republic of Congo already was hosting some 9,000 refugees from the DRC who had previously fled there to escape civil war in their country.