United Nations Radio

Fighting which erupted Sunday between rebel and forces backing the government in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has ended.

The clashes took place at Ngungu, about 35 miles west of Goma, the provincial capital of north Kivu.

The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) reports that thousands of civilians fled to a peacekeeping base to escape the fighting.

UN Spokesman Lt. Colonel Jean-Paul Dietrich in Kinshasa says the fighting ended after mediation by the UN peacekeeping mission.

Meanwhile, at a regional summit of the Southern African Development Community, SADC, leaders have offered to send military advisers to the DR Congo "if and when necessary".

Humanitarian groups working in the area, including Medicines Sans Frontieres, are warning that a cholera outbreak is threatening tens of thousands of displaced persons.

MSF has reported more than 45 cases around the city of Goma and the number could rise.

This is Donn Bobb reporting for United Nations Radio.

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