Geneva - An Italian aid worker was shot and killed in the Democratic Republic Congo, the United Nations reported Tuesday, condemning the death.

The UN's refugee agency said it "deplores the cold blooded murder" of the Italian who was working with internally displaced people in the troubled North Kivu area.

In the incident Monday afternoon, near the village Rutshuru, armed men ambushed a vehicle carrying staff from the Voluntary Association for International Service, killing the one aid worker and wounding another.

The refugee agency also warned that the rebels of General Laurant Nkunda were pressuring displaced people to return to their villages and preventing them from reaching makeshift camps near the UN peacekeeping mission's base.

The rebels were reportedly recruiting youths to conduct night patrols.

Some 250,000 are said to have been displaced since a surge in violence erupted in August, adding to a population of over 1 million refugees in the region. (dpa)