Military commanders in Zimbabwe say they have freed three-thousand of their troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo who've been trapped by a rebel siege for the past six weeks.

Zimbabwean commanders said they had inflicted a military defeat on rebels surrounding the Congolese town of Ikela, and had already sent fresh supplies to their troops there in a flight to the local airport.

The Zimbabwean troops are in Congo to support the government of President Kabila.

The BBC correspondent in Zimbabwe says there's no confirmation of the claim and nor has the Zimbabwean army given casualty figures.

The siege of Ikela has been an important stumbling block in recent negotiations aimed at getting the different sides to implement the Lusaka peace accord for the Democratic Republic on Congo.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service