Democratic Republic of Congo rebel chief Laurent Nkunda has threatened to drive the government from power unless it holds direct talks on his demands.

But the government of President Joseph Kabila moved quickly on Monday to reject the demand of the renegade general whose forces have beaten the army out of several towns in the east of the Central African country, extending a decade of conflict which has seen more than three million people killed.

Dressed in green beret, military fatigues and dark sunglasses, Nkunda accused the international community of failing ethnic Tutsis in a meeting with reporters at his jungle base on Sunday.

"We want direct negotiations with the government, I am waiting for an answer," said the 41-year-old rebel.

"It is their choice whether to refuse negotiations with us. But we are going to pressure them to have negotiations otherwise we will force them from power."

Moving from French into English, Nkunda said his forces would "liberate" DR Congo. "For us, Congo is under occupation. An occupation of negative forces protected by our government. And our government has betrayed his people."

"Even if they can kill Nkunda or whoever, this shout of freedom will continue to cry."

Nkunda, who has a force of about 5000 fighters, said his troops were at the gates of Goma, capital of Nord-Kivu province, and had infiltrated Goma airport.

The fighting erupted on 28 August

Kichanga is in a remote area of Nord-Kivu, without telephone coverage, some 80 kilometres northwest of Goma.

The latest fighting erupted on 28 August and Nkunda's National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) have taken several towns. He said he ordered his troops to halt their advance because he saw the suffering of people in Goma and declared a unilateral ceasefire on Wednesday.

The CNDP was one of several groups in the eastern DR Congo to sign a ceasefire accord with the government on 23 January in Goma.

In response to Nkunda's demands, government spokesman Lambert Mende told AFP that all "armed groups" in Nord-Kivu should be treated in the same way and that any contacts should be part of the ceasefire process.

"The government sees no reason to discriminate against other groups of Congolese who have propositions to make" on the crisis in the country, the spokesperson said.

Nkunda says he will not negotiate as part of the ceasefire. His demands include "the reestablishment of security" with stronger action against Hutu rebels from neighbouring Rwanda, the setting up of a "Republican national army", greater federalism and "greater transparency" in the awarding of mining contracts.

Nkunda again denied that he receives support from Rwanda. The Kinshasa government has accused Rwanda's ethnic Tutsi-dominated government of backing Nkunda's rebels.

"I have no support from Rwanda"

Rwanda denies the charge, but analysts say the Kigali government — frustrated by its neighbour's failure to disarm Rwandan Hutu rebels, the FLDR, harbouring perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against Tutsis — is helping Nkunda.

"I have no support from Rwanda," said Nkunda, who insisted he is fighting for the rights of Congolese Tutsis against the Rwandan Hutus.

Nkunda strongly criticised the UN Mission in DR Congo (Monuc), whose peacekeepers have also said he gets backing from Rwanda.

"The mission of Monuc was to secure populations but for the last five or six years, they haven't chased the FDLR," declared Nkunda.

The rebel general said some DR Congo brigades give weapons to the Hutu rebels and that Monuc had ignored the events. "It's a plot of the international community. It's difficult to resist if you love your country."

Like many Congolese Tutsis, Nkunda began his military career in the ranks of the Rwandan Patriotic Front which ended the genocide of the Hutu regime.

After two years in the Rwandan army he joined rebels in neighbouring former Zaire who in 1997 overthrew dictator Mobutu Sese Seko with the help of the Rwandan and Angolan armies.

In 1998 Nkunda became one of the commanders of the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) backed by Kigali during the regional conflict which shook ex-Zaire until 2003.

AFP