DR Congo rebels surrender to UN

A group of rebels loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda has surrendered to United Nations forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UN says the 15 insurgents approached their positions with orders the peacekeepers to retreat.

But after more than an hour of discussion, the rebels accepted to "lay down their arms and surrender" to be reintegrated into the regular army.

There have been week's of fighting between the army and Gen Nkunda's men.

The general is thought to have between 4,000 and 8,000 men under arms but has failed to honour pledges to disarm his men and re-integrate them into the DR Congo armed forces.

The UN website said Commander Micho Bizabaso and his 14 men surrendered at 0200 hours local time on Tuesday near the town of Sake, about 30km from Goma.

The incident comes amid high tensions in North Kivu province where the army has massed more than 20,000 troops to fight Gen Nkunda's men.

The UN says some 400,000 people have fled fighting in eastern DR Congo since December 2006, on top of 800,000 who were already displaced.