New fighting erupts in Congo

NAIROBI: A crisis summit on eastern DR Congo called for an immediate ceasefire and the creation of humanitarian corridors amid fresh fighting on the ground and a warning by UN chief Ban Ki-moon that the conflict could spread.

But rebels at the centre of the conflict who did not attend rubbished Friday's one-day summit held in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, saying the Congolese people's problems would only be settled by direct talks with the Kinshasa government.

"There should be an immediate ceasefire by all the armed groups and militias in Nord-Kivu," said the emergency meeting's final declaration. It urged the implementation of the disarmament of rebel groups in the region and the beefing-up of the UN peacekeeping force's mandate.

Following an inspection team's visit, the UN Mission in DR Congo, MONUC, said that "serious violations of human rights" had been confirmed in Kiwanja, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of the eastern city of Goma. The investigators "visited 11 communal grave sites, containing at least 26 bodies, fighters and civilians," it said, adding that reports of
further loss of life were still being checked out.