UN escorts aid convoy into Congo rebel zone

Kibati: A United Nations aid convoy escorted by UN peacekeepers crossed into a rebel-held zone of eastern Congo on Monday on a mission to help tens of thousands of civilians displaced by fighting.

The convoy of a dozen all-terrain vehicles and two truckloads of UN peacekeepers rolled through the front line separating Congolese army troops and Tutsi rebels, whose offensive last week triggered a humanitarian emergency.

Ceasefire holding

The relief caravan, carrying aid workers, medical supplies and water, is heading through Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province to Rutshuru, a town captured last week by rebels loyal to renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda.

Nkunda has declared a ceasefire, which is holding.

It will be the first coordinated international effort to reach at least 50,000 displaced civilians whom UN officials fear have left unprotected camps around Rutshuru, which is 70 kilometres north of the North Kivu provincial capital Goma.

The refugees are thought to be roaming the bush, seeking safe shelter, food, water and care. The recent offensive combined with killing by renegade Congolese army troops, has been described as "catastrophic" by aid groups.