UN - 'Deploy more troops in Congo'

Officials from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have called on the United Nations to speed up its deployment of troops to help disarm militia groups in Congo and bring an end to the war in the country.

The call came during a visit to the Rwandan capital Kigali by the Congolese foreign and defence ministers -- the highest level such visit since Rwandan troops and their Congolese rebel allies took up arms in 1998 against the then President, Laurent Kabila.

Around 2,000 UN troops are already in DR Congo to help monitor a ceasefire and the withdrawal of foreign soldiers from the frontline, as part of the 1999 peace deal signed in Zambia.

The next phase of the UN operation involves the deployment of more troops to begin a programme of voluntary disarmament.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service