CONGO/Eyewitness Report: The first crackle of gunfire rang out at dawn. It was followed soon after by the crumple of falling shells and a furious rattle of heavy machinegun fire, writes Declan Walsh.
By eight o'clock, as soldiers in rag-tag uniforms rushed through the deserted streets, the fighting was raging outside our gate.
A seven-hour battle for Bunia exploded on Saturday, only a day after French soldiers landed to bring peace to the tortured capital of north-eastern Congo.
More than 1,000 Lendu fighters, who lost control of the town three weeks ago, attacked from the south. Their Hema enemies, roaring past our house in jeeps mounted with heavy weapons, rushed to push them back.
Meanwhile entire neighbourhoods emptied as terrified townspeople piled into the UN compound, which is surrounded by razor wire and protected by a 700-strong battalion of armed Uruguayan troops. Along with 20 other journalists I was trapped inside the Catholic mission.
As we sheltered inside a small central courtyard, bullet rounds whistled overhead. A number of times the shelling felt uncomfortably close.
We called for help and within an hour, three UN four-wheel-drives screeched up to the gate. With volleys of gunfire cracking around, we sped the 100 metres to the UN compound. At the crossroads we passed Hema child fighters crouched in the long grass. Many looked frightened. Older militiamen leaning against a wall looked less concerned.
Outside the UN compound, Uruguayan armoured personnel carriers trained their guns down the empty main drag. Following the orders of their mandate, they did not open fire.
Inside, we crouched behind a wall alongside Uruguayan soldiers. A bullet hit off the tin roof.
Behind the building, thousands of refugees were also hiding under shelters of plastic sheeting. Two were hit by stray fire that punched through the flimsy perimeter fence. By one o'clock, the fighting faded as the Hema Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia drove the Lendu to a village four miles away.
The confrontation was a rude welcome for the 100 French troops camped at Bunia airport. When fully deployed in the coming weeks, the 1,400-strong mission is charged with enforcing peace. But this time, the UN tried dialogue before force.
The French advance team remained at the airport while mission head Col Daniel Vollot tried to persuade the warring parties to stop. "They didn't want to talk. They wanted to make war," he said afterwards.
Despite the deafening display of fire-power, the battle took remarkably few casualties.
Col Vollot helped to transport two of the victims - an elderly couple hit by a shell - to the hospital. He carried the limp old woman in his arms; her husband came on a stretcher, his bloodied back peppered with shrapnel.
Inside the UN compound, Anderson Baguma, a 28-year-old teacher, said he had sprinted through the streets under a hail of fire to reach safety. He said: "I am a Hema. If the Lendu had caught us, we would have paid a high price. When they come, they kill."
Behind the UN compound, a Hema soldier limped past. "My own team accidentally hit me with a rocket. But it's not too bad," he said. Fighting was also taking place around Katoto, 15 miles away. Aid workers said yesterday the casualties could reach 100, although no westerners have yet reached the village.
Balijuka Ndolorile (21) was shot in the testicles during the attack. Eight hours later his father wheeled him into Bunia on a bicycle. "I had only left the house when I was hit. A lot of people had fallen," he said yesterday.
Although their numbers are small, the French have started to impose their presence in Bunia. There was a tense confrontation with a Hema battle wagon on Saturday afternoon; yesterday five armed vehicles carrying Foreign Legion troops sped down the airport road.
The mission is expecting to have fully deployed within two to three weeks. However aid workers say they fear the Lendu may attack again before then.
Before nightfall on Saturday, we returned to the Catholic mission to gather our bags for a night on the grass at the UN compound. Our cook told a photographer: "The UN cars came for you, but they left us behind."