Rebel breaks DR Congo ceasefire

Children in the area are said to be at risk of abduction

There has been further fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between government forces and fighters loyal to a renegade general.

Gen Laurent Nkunda's force, which broke a ceasefire on Monday, has forced the army to withdraw from its positions.

Army commanders told the BBC that they retreated because they have strict orders from President Joseph Kabila only to defend themselves.

The army says the Congolese government is hoping for a peaceful solution.

In the past few days at least 4,000 refugees from the fighting have streamed into UNHCR camps near the eastern city of Goma.

The UN says the situation is "very worrying" and has called on both parties to respect the truce called this month.

On Monday, a DRC army spokesman Col Delphin Kahimbi told the French news agency AFP that government forces had been attacked on three fronts in North Kivu province.

The rebels say war has been forced on them as President Kabila has declined to negotiate with them.

Refugees

The UN refugee agency site at Bulengo saw some 4,000 people arriving in recent days, Masako Yonekawa, UNHCR head in the nearby town of Goma, told the BBC News website.

She said many of the refugees were fleeing from Gen Nkunda's troops, who are accused of looting and abducting children.

Ms Yonekawa said the site, about 20km (12 miles) west of Goma, was now housing more than 10,000 people.

The UNHCR says more than 300,000 people in the area have been displaced so far this year.

Children, it adds, are being forcibly taken from schools to join the rebels, with 280 children reported to have been abducted from one location alone.