-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- U.N. gunships battled rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday , according to U.N. spokesman Michele Bonnardeaux . U.N. vehicles on Monday pass between lines of civilians fleeing fighting north of Goma , Congo . U.N. helicopter gunships , supporting national army forces on the ground , fired on rebels from the Congress for the Defense of the People in an effort to halt their advance on the village of Kibumba . CNDP is the French acronym for National Congress for the Defense of the People , a Congolese rebel group under renegade general Laurent Nkunda . The village of Kibumba is the location of a U.N.-administered internally displaced peoples camp , just 12 1/2 miles -LRB- 20 kilometers -RRB- north of the provincial capital , Goma , Bonnardeaux said . Renewed fighting erupted Sunday when the CNDP seized a major military camp and gorilla park , according to U.N. and park officials . The U.N. brokered peace accord in the area in January . On Monday , thousands fleeing Kibumba spurred violent demonstrations in front of the U.N. compound in Goma . The group was angry that a 17,000-person U.N. security force has been unable to protect them from renewed bouts of violence in the country , a U.N. spokesman told CNN . A U.N. spokesman said the U.N. 's mission in Congo was `` under attack '' on Monday . A mission staff member inside the U.N. compound , who did not want to give his name for security reasons , said U.N. security forces had returned fire in an attempt to disperse angry crowds near the U.N. compound . Gunshots could be heard as he spoke on the phone . He said the attack had resulted in several deaths . U.N. officials confirmed one dead in Goma as a result of Monday 's demonstrations . The assault died down later in the day , a U.N. spokesman said , but people continued to pelt the building . It was unclear who was attacking , but the staff member told CNN the people were from a village that had been taken over by the CNDP , a Congolese renegade group led by Gen. Laurent Nkunda that seized a major military camp and gorilla park in a renewed bout of heavy fighting Sunday . Thousands of civilians were reportedly fleeing the fighting . Pictures from the region showed long lines of people walking along roads carrying their belongings . Watch how refugees line roads to get away '' Soldiers who abandoned the military camp were retreating in vehicles on a main road outside of Goma on Monday , angrily honking their horns at civilians who got in their way , The Associated Press reported . Bertrand Bisimwa , a spokesman for the rebels , told the AP that rebel fighters had moved to within 7 miles -LRB- 11 kilometers -RRB- of Goma . The latest fighting comes after the collapse on Sunday of a tenuous week-old U.N.-brokered cease-fire between rebels and government forces . According to U.N. spokesman Nick Birnback , thousands of displaced civilians in the city of Goma were throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails , angry that a 17,000-person U.N. security force has been unable to protect them from the violence . `` The situation in Goma is very volatile , '' he said . `` But MONUC is taking all available measures to stabilize the situation . '' Watch more about the fighting '' The U.N. mission -- known by its French acronym , MONUC -- is in Goma , which is along Congo 's border with Rwanda . Although the civil war in Congo -- once known as Zaire -- officially ended in 2003 , recent fighting in eastern Congo between government forces and CNDP rebels under has caused tens of thousands to flee their homes , according to U.N. spokesman Michele Bonnardeaux . Watch ranger describe the violence '' The conflict and humanitarian crisis in Congo have taken the lives of 5.4 million people since 1998 , and 45,000 people die there every month , according to an International Rescue Committee report in January . A senior U.S. State Department official said the United States is pushing hard for cooperation among Rwanda , Uganda and Congo over the situation in eastern Congo . The official said all countries , especially Congo and Rwanda , `` need to work together '' to rein in `` militia groups and other negative forces . '' Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer will travel to Congo and Rwanda to urge both governments to take action , the official said . U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement Monday calling on all parties `` to make every effort to restore calm among the affected populations . '' The attacks also coincided with the resignation of the U.N. military commander in Congo , Lt. Gen. Vicente Diaz de Villegas y Herreria . A U.N. statement on Monday indicated he stepped down for `` personal reasons . '' CNN 's Carolina Sanchez contributed to this report .