A retreat by Congo government troops in the face of continued rebel attacks was in danger of turning into a rout today.

Congo’s army clashed with rebels in some of the worst fighting in a week despite the rebel leader’s promise to support a ceasefire, the United Nations said today.

REBEL leader Laurent Nkunda yesterday called for ceasefire talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo government after meeting a UN peace envoy even as new clashes broke out between his fighters and the army.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s main rebel leader today promised his support of a ceasefire and UN efforts to end the fighting.

Food supplies were delivered across rebel-held areas of eastern Congo today for the first time in weeks.

Tensions escalated in war-battered eastern Congo today after Angola announced it was sending troops to aid government forces.

The United Nations’ most powerful body is close to approving 3,000 more peacekeeping troops for war-torn areas of eastern Congo, diplomats said today.

A cholera outbreak in a sprawling refugee camp spread to eastern Congo’s provincial capital of Goma, increasing fears of an epidemic amid a tense stand-off between government troops and rebels.

A cholera outbreak has spread to the eastern Congo capital of Goma, increasing fears of an epidemic.

Fears that fighting in eastern Congo will spread were raised today after it was revealed that Angolan troops joined government forces attacking rebels near the city of Goma.

African leaders and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon were holding a crisis meeting today aimed at ending the latest fighting in eastern Congo.

UN peacekeepers found the bodies of a dozen shot civilians yesterday in an eastern Congo village occupied by Tutsi rebels who have seized fresh territory in North Kivu province, witnesses and a UN spokesman said.

A ceasefire called by Congo rebels appeared to be unravelling today.

Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo fought pro-government militiamen for a second day in the town of Kiwanja today, forcing thousands to flee.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s government today refused rebel leader Laurent Nkunda’s demand for direct talks to solve the crisis in eastern Kivu province, where tens of thousands of desperate refugees were receiving international aid.

UN aid convoy delivered vital medical supplies to Congo refugees today for the first time since fighting began weeks ago.

The first humanitarian convoy to go behind rebel lines since violence erupted in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo more than two months ago set off today.

International envoys converged on eastern Congo to help end some of the worst violence in years as thousands of anxious, hungry refugees struggled to get home amid a fragile ceasefire.

The rebel Congo general laying siege to Goma demanded direct talks with the government today over ending fighting in the region.

Soldiers began to flee the eastern Congo provincial capital Goma today in retreat from advancing rebels.

UN soldiers are boosting numbers in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as battling armed groups continue fighting on all fronts.

Rebels loyal to a renegade warlord seized an east Congo army base and the headquarters of a park housing some of the world’s last mountain gorillas, in heavy fighting today that sent thousands of civilians fleeing, UN officials and rebels said.

The top United Nations envoy to Congo warned that renewed fighting in the east had heightened ethnic tensions and could lead to the renewal of a wider conflict in central Africa.

Three mass graves have been discovered in an eastern area of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the DRC formerly controlled by a rebel warlord that has been the scene of recent clashes, the United Nations said today.

Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have killed and eaten two silverback mountain gorillas, conservationists said today, sparking fears more of the endangered animals may have been slaughtered in the lawless region.