Rebels call for ceasefire talks with Congo amid clashes

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 renegade general held talks with Olusegun Obasanjo, the former Nigerian president, a few hours after the latest fighting in the strife-torn east of the country near the strategic town of Kanyabayonga.

The first clashes came early yesterday and carried on into the early afternoon after a brief lull as the rebels hit back at government artillery barrages, Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Paul Dietrich, a spokesman for the UN Mission in DR Congo (MONUC), said.