The UN Security Council on Wednesday slammed the rebel push toward the provincial capital of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and expressed alarm at reports of heavy weapons fire across the country's border with Rwanda.

The 15-member body unanimously adopted a non-binding statement that condemned the recent offensive by a force loyal to ethnic Tutsi warlord Laurent Nkunda and "demands that it brings its operations to an end."

It also expressed concern at "reports to heavy weapons fire across the Democratic Republic of Congo-Rwanda border."

The council huddled behind closed doors to hear UN peacekeeping supremo Alain Le Roy brief on the latest developments around Goma, where DRC government forces and tens of thousands of civilians have been scrambling to leave.

Unilateral ceasefire

Late on Wednesday, Nkunda loyalists declared a unilateral ceasefire even though the collapse of government resistance left UN troops — who earlier used helicopter gunships to stall the rebel advance — as the only obstacle to a complete takeover of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

"We are expecting a clear condemnation by the Security Council of the major operation" conducted by Nkunda, France's UN Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert told reporters on his way to the meeting.

He took note of the ceasefire ordered by the rebels and expressed hope that it would stand and that Nkunda would call off his offensive.

Ripert described the humanitarian situation as "very alarming ... with more than 50 000 people on the road and the city is almost empty."

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner meanwhile said on Wednesday that Paris backed sending an EU battle group of up to 1500 troops to the DR Congo.

He said the French EU presidency and the United Nations had discussed the battle groups "which can provide between 400 and 1500 men that we could deploy in Europe's name within eight to 10 days."

This follows a call by DR Congo President Joseph Kabila for the dispatch of a "multinational force" to beef up Monuc.

He said the council would study a request by peacekeeping planners for troop reinforcements for the 17 000-strong UN mission in DR Congo known as Monuc.

Ripert also said European Union foreign ministers would meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss various options to bolster Monuc.

Cross-border fighting

UN chief Ban Ki-moon, on a visit to the Philippines, said on Wednesday he sent envoys two emissaries to DR Congo and neighbouring Rwanda to urge their leaders to end their feud and help ease mounting tension along their common border.

He also expressed alarm at reports of exchanges of heavy weapons fire across the border between DR Congo and Rwanda and voiced concern at "the collapse of discipline in units of the Armed Forces of the DR Congo (FARDC), which have reportedly engaged in looting."

The UN boss warned that the stepped-up fighting in North Kivu "is creating a humanitarian crisis of catastrophic dimensions and threatens dire consequences on a regional scale."

In a related development, Jendayi Frazer, the US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, urged Nkunda forces to halt their march to Goma and abide by previous agreements.

She said Nkunda and his National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) would be held accountable for actions in Goma.

And she rejected claims by Nkunda that his forces were fighting to protect the Tutsi minority in North Kivu.

Rwanda supporting rebels?

Combat between Nkunda loyalists and DR Congo government forces has escalated since the weekend, despite a plea from Ban for an end to the fighting.

The government in Kinshasa has accused Rwanda of actively supporting Nkunda.

"We have no evidence that Rwanda is fighting directly in eastern Congo, but we do believe that Rwandan territory has been used to provide support to CNDP," Frazer said. "It is a very, very easy border to cross, supplies can go back and forth easily."

Nkunda has claimed that DR Congo government troops are colluding with Rwandan Hutu rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

But the DR Congo army has consistently denied fighting alongside the FDLR, which fields some 6000 fighters, according to UN estimates.

The FDLR have been based in eastern DR Congo, bordering Rwanda and Uganda, for the past 12 years and are seen as a major source of instability in the Great Lakes region.

Many FDLR members are suspected of taking part in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda which, according to the United Nations, claimed the lives of 800 000 ethnic minority group Tutsis and moderates of the majority group Hutus.

AFP