Ceasefire in Congo holds as UN tries to set up talks

UN and American envoys were today attempting to set up peace talks between rebel leaders and the government in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a shaky ceasefire continued to hold.

Sporadic gunfire could still be heard in Goma, the eastern provincial capital, after fierce fighting between government and rebel forces caused tens of thousands of people to flee in panic.

The crisis has caused a humanitarian catastrophe, the Red Cross says.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon sent envoys to DR Congo and Rwanda as each accused the other of cross-border incursions. The African Union is to hold crisis talks today and the EU has been trying to bring together Rwandan president Paul Kagame and Congolese president Joseph Kabila.

Rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda has threatened to take Goma unless UN peacekeepers guarantee the ceasefire, which he declared on Wednesday.

Oxfam and other aid agencies have suspended operations in the city, where a main hospital as well as businesses and homes have been looted.

Tutsi forces, positioned just nine miles from Goma, were opening a "humanitarian corridor" so aid could reach the thousands of people trapped between them and UN soldiers. Much of the looting has been blamed on retreating Congolese troops.

The UN is considering redeploying some of its 17,000-strong force in the Congo to bolster 5,000 peacekeepers.

Thousands have sought refuge in Goma, and many more have fled into the forests, where aid agencies cannot help them. Gen Nkunda has told the BBC his goal was to protect the Tutsi community from attack by Rwandan Hutu rebels.