Truce move in rebel city

Rwanda and Uganda have agreed to an immediate ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of Congo after mediation by the United Nations.

More than 50 civilians, including at least 16 children, have been killed in four days of clashes in the north-eastern city of Kisangani.

Hopes of a UN deployment hang on the ceasefire holding

Another 100 were injured, and the city's cathedral was left in flames after it was also hit.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan telephoned Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, on Thursday, said his spokesman.

"In response, the two presidents agreed to a ceasefire as of 1600 local time (1400 GMT) and to withdraw their troops" from Kisangani.

Fighting flared again on Monday as the two armies were apparently preparing to hand Kisangani over to UN control.

"In order to ensure that the ceasefire holds, UPDF [Uganda Uganda People's Defence Forces] is prepared to ignore sporadic shelling of its positions, but only if such shelling does not amount to preparation for ground attack," said Ugandan Government official James Wapakabulo.

Representatives of countries and rebel movements involved in the war have meanwhile met in Zambia to discuss the planned deployment of UN peacekeepers - a plan which has been threatened by the recent fighting.

The Political Committee, which was set up to implement the 1999 Lusaka peace accords, will next week advise the Security Council on whether the conditions exist to deploy the peacekeepers.

Threats to lasting peace

Both Mr Annan and Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, who brokered a peace deal in Congo last year, have condemned the fighting. Mr Chiluba said the fighting threatened the peace process.

"This is a very sad turn of events. The whole thing defies logic and is a big shame to Africa," he said.

The UN Security Council had called for an immediate halt to the hostilities, saying it could threaten plans to deploy a 5,000-strong UN peacekeeping force in Congo.

On Wednesday Rwandan officers, who control the area around Kisangani's shell-damaged cathedral, said they were bringing in reinforcements.

They accused Ugandans of starting recent fighting and said the Ugandans already had five battalions on the north-western outskirts of town.

The Ugandan and Rwandan presidents agreed last month to end the fighting and withdraw their troops from Kisangani.