The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to address the delicate security situation in the east of the country, theatre in the past weeks to fighting, and accusing Rwanda of an imminent attack on Goma, provincial capital of North Kivu.

The accusation made by Congo's ambassador to the UN Atoki Ileka was confirmed also by Foreign minister Mbusa Nyamwisi, claiming that the government of Kigali in the past hours deployed an unspecified number of troops to Gisenyi, twin city of Goma, on the Rwandan border. "Based on information in our possession an attack by Rwandan troops is imminent, masqueraded as an aggression by CNDP militia", he stated, referring to the National Congress for the Defence of the People rebel movement headed by the renegade pro-Rwandan general Laurent Nkunda, main protagonist of the violence in the Kivu region.

Meanwhile, violent fighting continued yesterday in the Rutshuru area between the CNDP and Congolese armed forces. The army bombed the rebel-held areas of Nkokwe, Rugari, Bukima, Kabaya and Ngungu, around 50km north-east of Goma, while another front opened in Bunagana, on the Congo-Ugandan border.

After several hours of fighting, the rebels claimed they regained control of Rumangabo and repelled government forces to 50km from Goma. On the humanitarian front, aid agencies are urgently calling for humanitarian corridors to bring assistance to the populations displaced by the conflict and in some cases isolated for weeks.

Reports, still to be confirmed, have been circulating in the past days of deaths from starvation of some displaced in the more remote camps. Based on current estimates, over 100.000 civilians have been forced to flee by the new fighting.