Kenya`s Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula on Monday rebels and the government in the Democratic Republic of Congo start talks to avert a humanitarian crisis in the country`s volatile eastern region.

`We are calling for the ceasefire there to be respected and talks to start as a soon as possible,` Wetangula told AFP in Nairobi.

Wetangula, who visited the region last week, said he had urged Kinshasa and rebels of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) to halt fighting that has displaced up to 100,000 people.

The CNDP rebels led by renegade Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda drove back government forces in Nord-Kivu region bordering Rwanda.

They have threatened to drive out government forces unless they agree to direct talks.

Kinshasa on Monday rejected the proposal for talks although the CNDP announced a unilateral truce last week.

Rebel spokesman Bertrand Bisimwa said the DRC government had `launched the war on its people` by refusing to negotiate with the insurgents, currently about 15 kilometres (10 miles) from the regional capital Goma.

Aid agencies have warned that the condition of many of the displaced civilians is desperate.