Fighting between Zairian troops and ethnic Tutsis has prompted more than 220,000 Hutu refugees to flee camps in eastern Zaire.

U.N. refugee agency spokesman Paul Stromberg said Monday that all 12 camps near the Zairian town of Uvira are empty and nearby villages have been abandoned after a third day of heavy fighting in the region.

Several months ago, officials in Zaire’s South Kivu province began a campaign to drive minority Tutsis into Rwanda and Burundi, prompting some Tutsis to take up arms.