Congolese Refugees Head Home During Cease-Fire

(31 Oct 08 - RV) Thousands of war-weary refugees set out on foot for their homes in eastern Congo today, taking advantage of a cease-fire as American and U.N. envoys joined efforts there to find a political solution to the region's long-running rebellion. The U.N. Secretary General said today that Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda should keep a ceasefire declaration and engage in dialogue. Nkunda threatened yesterday to occupy an eastern city unless U.N. peacekeepers guaranteed a ceasefire, while foreign envoys tried to secure peace on the Rwanda-Congo border.
His threat followed an offensive by Tutsi rebels that sent tens of thousands of civilians fleeing in Congo's North Kivu province. We spoke to Florian Westphal, the Head of Media relations at the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva. He told us that the security situation is still volatile.