A fuel tanker flipped over and exploded into flames in Democratic Republic of Congo overnight, killing at least 220 villagers, the UN said today.

At least 204 people were killed in Democratic Republic of Congo when a tanker truck transporting oil flipped over and exploded overnight in the east of the country, a Red Cross official said today.

A Congolese journalist working for a UN radio station has been murdered outside his home in unstable eastern Congo, officials said.

Congolese rebels tonight called a ceasefire around Goma and said they were on the outskirts of the city while the army retreated and residents fled.