The rebels continued advances in eastern Congo despite their own announcement of a cease-fire. The U.N. secretary-general called for them to lay down their guns and agree to mediation.

Rwandan-backed rebels are gaining ground in eastern Congo despite the unilateral ceasefire they declared earlier this week.

Nearly three thousand people have been killed in the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the United Nations, after the provincial capital was captured by rebels following days of fierce fighting with the Congolese army.