by Island

This story has appeared in several Canadian newspapers today. Ajax, Ontario pop-punk band Sum 41 was recently in the Democratic Republic of Congo to appear in a documentary titled From The Front Lines. A peace accord in the area was shattered as violence suddenly broke out between government soldiers and troops loyal to a renegade commander. The band was evacuated from the area and returned back in Canada on Tuesday. Here's an excerpt from a Toronto Star article:

The popular band was there with War Child Canada to shoot a documentary on the plight of children in war zones when violence escalated between rival factions of the Congolese army in the town of Bukavu, near the Rwandan border in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"There were a couple of moments when I thought, 'This is it, we're going to die,' so we (the band) reflected on everything we went through and talked about our lives back home," [Deryck] Whibley said in an interview.

The band, tour manager, a music video director, a documentary filmmaker and two doctors from War Child Canada were holed up in the hotel for 25 hours. Mortar rounds exploded outside the hotel's shattered windows and sent panic through the 40 or so foreign visitors staying at the complex…

For the full story check out the Toronto Star article or a National Post article.