Thousands of civilians displaced by conflict in east DR Congo are languishing on the roads as Western powers seek to prevent another tragedy like that in Rwanda.
In their new strongholds, victorious rebels tried to reassure tens of thousands of civilians displaced by the latest week of fighting.
Earlier today, on a joint European Union mission to defuse the crisis, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and British counterpart David Miliband pressed Congolese and Rwandan leaders to support a four-day-old ceasefire.
The idea of sending an EU force to DR Congo was floated this week but the envoys played down such a move and called for the 850 peacekeepers in Goma to be reinforced by soldiers of the 17,000-strong existing UN force from elsewhere in the country.
On the main road out of Goma, thousands of civilians, many starving and without humanitarian aid, seized on the lull in fighting to try to regain a refugee camp further north.
The latest crisis was spurred when forces led by renegade general Laurent Nkunda pushed towards Goma while government forces retreated and deserted en masse, unravelling months-old agreements to restore peace in the region.
Even as it looked poised to descend on Goma, Nkunda's National Congress for the Defence of the People on Wednesday announced a unilateral ceasefire, which has so far held.
Meanwhile, the parliament of DR Congo has approved a new cabinet that takes over the urgent task of finding a way to bring peace in the country's strife-torn east.
The cabinet headed by Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito was approved by 294 lawmakers, with 67 voting against it while seven abstained.
The new government was approved after two days of debate that focused on the conflict in the east, where fighting between the military and rebel forces led by renegade general Laurent Nkunda resumed in August.
