UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Rebel forces have declared a cease-fire after four days of fighting in the North Kivu province of eastern Congo, the French ambassador to the United Nations said after Security Council talks on the unfolding humanitarian crisis.
Laurent Nkunda, the Congolese Tutsi general who leads troops of the National Congress for the Defense of the People, ordered the cease-fire, Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert told reporters.
"We hope that it will stand, and we hope that tomorrow Mr. Nkunda will announce that he stops his offensive," Ripert said, adding that he expected the the council would condemn the military operation.
He called the humanitarian situation "very alarming," said more than 50,000 people "are on the road," and expressed hope that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would send a high-level envoy to the region for talks "as soon as possible."
Representatives of European countries "are talking together" about how best to ease the situation, Ripert said. "We are looking into the most effective and fastest way of helping MONUC," he said, using the French acronym for the U.N. mission in Congo.
Nkunda has accused the Congolese government of failing to protect the Tutsi tribe from Rwandan Hutu militia in Congo.
