Eastern DRC sees uneasy calm after ceasefire appeal

Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has appeared calm for a second day after regional powers appealed for a ceasefire amid fears the fighting could spark a wider conflict.

Pupils in the regional capital Bukavu were returning to school, an AFP news agency journalist saw on Monday, after schools shuttered in the city on Friday as residents began to flee and shops closed over fears of an imminent attack by M23 fighters.

The front line was calm at midday Monday after intense fighting on Saturday about 60 kilometres from Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, according to local and security sources.

The M23 rebels, which claims to protect ethnic Tutsis, began advancing in South Kivu after late last month taking control of Goma, the capital of neighbouring North Kivu province that borders Rwanda.

East and southern African leaders at a summit on Saturday called for an "immediate and unconditional" ceasefire within five days, fearing the conflict would spill over into neighbouring countries.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi took part in the talks, the latter via video link.

The European Union welcomed the announcement by the regional leaders, whose final summit statement made no explicit reference to Rwanda or its part in the conflict.

Germany remains "deeply concerned about a possible advance of the M23 militia and Rwandan troops" towards Bukavu, a foreign ministry spokesman said.

"This threatens further heavy fighting and indescribable suffering for the people in the region," Sebastian Fischer told reporters, adding Germany was "currently not seeing any signs that the ceasefire is being observed".

Reinforcements

Meanwhile, South Africa has sent additional troops and military equipment to DRC in recent days, political and diplomatic sources said, after 14 of its soldiers were killed last month.

Flight data reviewed by Reuters news agency showed transport aircraft flying from South Africa to Lubumbashi, in southern DRC. An airport employee there confirmed that military planes had landed last week.

"We have been informed of a (South African National Defence Force) troop build-up in the area of Lubumbashi. We gather that approximately 700-800 soldiers had been flown to Lubumbashi," Chris Hattingh, a South African lawmaker, wrote in a text message to Reuters.

Hattingh, the defence spokesperson for the Democratic Alliance, a member of the governing coalition, said it was "difficult to figure out what is exactly unfolding" because parliament's defence committee had not been briefed.

South Africa is believed to have around 3,000 troops deployed in Congo, both as part of a UN peacekeeping mission and a Southern African regional force tasked with helping Congo's army combat the M23 militants.