Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- More than 16,000 people have fled fighting between police and armed men in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Equateur province and taken refuge in neighboring Congo Republic, the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said today.

“We sent an emergency team today along with government authorities from Congo-Brazzaville to make an assessment,” UNHCR spokeswoman Francesca Fontanini told said by phone from Kinshasa.

“People are mainly sleeping in public buildings and need health and nutritional support,” she said.

The conflict, which began over fishing rights near the town of Dongo, has already claimed the lives of seven police officers and four civilians, according to Congolese Minister of Communication Lambert Mende.

“The number of deaths could be higher,” Mende said by phone from Kinshasa. “We have police on their way to Dongo to bring peace and to identify who was responsible for the killings and the burning that took place.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael J. Kavanagh in Kinshasa on Mkavanagh9@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 5, 2009 10:57 EST