Rebels in Guinea Bissau have declared a forty-eight-hour ceasefire in their fighting with government troops.

In a statement broadcast on Portuguese television, a rebel spokesman Zamora Induta said the truce would allow President Vieira to explain what he intended to do about troops from Senegal and Guinea who've been supporting him.

The withdrawal of all foreign troops is one of the rebels' main conditions for peace.

The Portuguese ambassador to Guinea Bissau Francisco Henriques da Silva has said the humanitarian situation in the country is critical.

He said food supplies were running short and the fighting was preventing aid getting through.