UN to unveil DR Congo peace plan

The army is understood to be losing ground to rebel forces

The UN is to present a plan for the rival forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo to withdraw from their positions, following recent clashes.

UN mission in DR Congo head Alan Doss is to present the disengagement plan to President Joseph Kabila in the eastern city of Goma, near the fighting.

On Tuesday, rebel forces were again reported to have pushed back the Congolese armed forces near Goma.

Some 60,000 people have fled the latest clashes in the volatile region.

Renegade General Laurent Nkunda signed a peace deal in January.

But the disengagement plan which was critical to that process was never drawn up and fierce fighting resumed three weeks ago - until now.

EAST DR CONGO ARMED GROUPS Army FDLR- Rwandan Hutus, accused of 1994 genocide CNDP - Gen Nkunda's Tutsi forces

On Tuesday, UN military spokesman Lt Col Jean-Paul Dietrich accused the Congolese army of using rocket-launchers during the fighting, reports the AP news agency.

"It is a violation of the cease-fire on their part," he said.

President Kabila is apparently unhappy at the international pressure on him to negotiate with Gen Nkunda, whom he regards as a terrorist.

The disengagement plan should be the first step in a process that should lead to the re-integration of Gen Nkunda's men into the Congolese army.

But he has always refused to disarm, while Rwandan Hutu rebels still operate in the area, as he accuses them of attacking his Tutsi community.

The Congolese army has promised to wipe out the Rwandan Hutu FDLR forces, with the backing of the 17,000 UN troops in the country.

But a recent report by Global Witness said they retained control of large areas and accused the army of collaborating with them to exploit the region's mineral wealth.

BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says eastern DR Congo is - once more - on the knife-edge between war and peace.