DR Congo rebels 'oust Gen Nkunda'

There has been no comment on the move yet from Gen Laurent Nkunda

Senior commanders in the main rebel movement in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo say they have ousted their leader, General Laurent Nkunda.

CNDP officers told the BBC they had removed Gen Nkunda because of what they described as "bad governance".

There has been no comment yet from Gen Nkunda and no independent confirmation.

The CNDP launched a major offensive in August, which displaced more than a quarter of a million people and raised fears of a wider regional war.

The rebel group says it is fighting to protect its Tutsi community from attack by Rwandan Hutu rebels based in DR Congo, some of whom are accused of taking part in the 1994 genocide.

The Congolese government has often promised to stop the Hutu forces from using its territory, but has not done so.

Talks in Kenya aimed at ending the conflict became deadlocked last month, with UN mediator Olusegun Obasanjo complaining that the CNDP's negotiators lacked the authority to make concessions.

'Transitional council'

The decision to remove Gen Nkunda as the CNDP leader reportedly came after a meeting of the rebel group's army high command on Sunday.

The fighting has displaced some 250,000 people since August

In a statement sent to the BBC and signed by chief-of-staff Brig-Gen Bosco Ntaganda, the high command said Gen Nkunda's "bad leadership" and "bad governance" had distracted the CNDP from undertaking its normal activities.

The high command had also resolved to set up an ad-hoc "transitional council" to run the group until further notice, the statement said.

The council would ensure that efforts to return peace to North Kivu province continued, and would work with mediators to make this happen, it added.

In recent weeks, Gen Nkunda has reportedly been in Rutshuru, a town in North Kivu, along with about a battalion of his troops.

BBC African Great Lakes analyst Kassim Kayira says it is unclear whether they have actually dethroned Gen Nkunda, and how he will respond.

It also leaves the peace talks in a difficult situation, as it is not known whether the negotiating team in Nairobi support Gen Nkunda or not, he adds.