DR Congo President Joseph Kabila has accused UN peacekeepers of doing nothing to stop killings by rebels in the country.
African leaders meeting in Kenya called for an immediate ceasefire to end fighting in the Congo, and said the region could send 'peacemaking' forces there if required.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said: 'There should be an immediate ceasefire by all the armed men and militia in North Kivu.
'The Great Lakes region will not stand by and witness incessant and destructive acts of violence. To this end, if necessary the Great Lakes region will send peacemaking forces into the Kivu Province of DRC.'
The leaders also called on the UN Security Council to strengthen the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in DR Congo, MONUC, and to provide it with adequate resources.
Congolese rebel forces captured another town in North Kivu province yesterday, as the UN peacekeeping force's inability to stop the violence became apparent.
Human Rights Watch said rebels and pro-government militia had killed at least 20 civilians in recent fighting.
The presidents of the DRC, Rwanda and Kenya are among those attending the summit, as well as the UN's newly-appointed envoy to Congo, former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo.
One of the main goals of the meeting is to rekindle dialogue between Mr Kabila and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, whose government has been accused of supporting the rebels, which it has repeatedly denied.
At a meeting in Nairobi a year ago, the two countries committed to a plan aimed at stabilising the eastern DRC, but both sides have failed to deliver.
Kinshasa has never exercised any real authority in eastern DRC and its regular troops fled in the face of Laurent Nkunda's offensive, allowing the rebels to seize key towns and threaten the regional capital Goma.
