LUBUMBASHI, DR Congo, Sept 30, 2008 (AFP) - Several thousand people in southeastern DR Congo protested Tuesday against clashes roiling the country's east, in the latest of growing demonstrations against rebel fighters here.

Organised by local authorities who promised a paid day off work, the march in the Katanga province capital of Lubumbashi paralysed commercial activity in the city.

It marked the latest of mushrooming protests in major towns across the country against fighters loyal to renegade ex-general Laurent Nkunda.

Clashes that erupted in August between the rebels and government have forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes over the past month alone, according to the Red Cross.

Katanga's governor Moise Katumbi, who is close to President Joseph Kabila, has called on the government to give its army the means to 'neutralise' the rebels and for UN peacekeepers and the international community to help reestablish peace.

Clashes between the two sides resumed late August, violating a peace accord signed at the beginning of the year by all parties in the conflict.