Congolese refugees flee to Tanzania

The Tanzanian President, Benjamin Mkapa, says more than one-hundred-thousand refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo DRC have fled into his country following recent fighting in the Congo.

Mr Mkapa says the refugees included armed soldiers who were being given the option of moving into refugee camps or going back home to Congo.

He was speaking at a press conference in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, after talks with the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on security issues in the Great Lakes region. The two leaders urged all sides in the conflict in Congo and neighbouring Burundi to implement the respective Lusaka and Arusha accords.

President Mkapa denied that Tanzania had offered bases to rebels fighting the Burundian government.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service