Despite a peace deal that was reached in January between the rebel Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, or FARDC, and the DR Congo government, an outbreak of violence has threatened to destabilize the already fragile region, the United Nations reported.

Officials report eight hours of fighting broke out between FARDC and government troops Thursday in the eastern province North Kivu. Additionally rebel leader Laurent Nkunda and his National Council for People's Defense were also engaging in violent clashes with DR Congo forces.

The surge in violence marks the first fully engaged fighting in the volatile region since the January peace deal. Officials from the United Nations are calling the hostilities a setback.

"The first thing we did was appeal to all the parties to stop the hostilities," Lt. Col. Jean-Paul Dietrich, U.N. mission to DR Congo spokesman, said in a statement.

"We have also sent out patrols to determine what has actually happened, and we have combat helicopters on standby. It was quite a setback today."

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