UN rights team in Congo delays start to probe

United Nations investigators in the Democratic Republic of Congo have had lengthy discussions about a government offer to allow to them to start investigating alleged refugee massacres.

But they have yet to reach any decision about how to proceed, and the BBC correspondent in Kinshasa says it's clear they're sceptical about the sincerity of the offer.

The government of Laurent Kabila kept them waiting for three months but, following an ultimatum from the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, now says they can go wherever they want.

The team returned to Kinshasa two weeks ago to resume the blocked investigation into alleged massacres of Rwandan refugees but had not been able to begin work.

Mr Kabila has repeatedly denied allegations that his forces killed thousands of Rwandan Hutu refugees during their march to power this year.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service