Cholera claims more victims in former Zaire

United Nations aid officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo say an outbreak of cholera has now killed more than two-hundred people in the north-eastern city of Kisangani.

Most of the dead were young soldiers.

A spokeswoman for the children's agency UNICEF said there were over a-thousand confirmed cases of the disease, which first broke out in the area in November.

Aid workers said it spread after the city suffered extensive flooding two weeks ago when the river Congo burst its banks.

The government held an emergency meeting with aid agencies yesterday to discuss how to tackle the outbreak.

Last month, the World Health Organisation called for more action to deal with cholera in East Africa.

It said eight countries were affected or threatened by severe outbreaks triggered by heavy rains and poor sanitation.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service