Violence in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Katanga Province has been displacing thousands of civilians, according to local media and two international NGOs.

Some 1,000 refugees in camps in Tanzania returned to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) late in July in order to register to vote in the 2006 general elections, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

The UN Mission in Congo, known as MONUC, has called for an inquiry into the killing of Pascal Kabangulu, a prominent Congolese human rights activist, officials at the mission told reporters in Kinshasa on Wednesday.

The Independent Electoral Commission of the Democratic Republic of Congo has said 2.9 million people in Kinshasa, the capital, had signed up to vote in the 2006 elections by the time registration centres closed on Sunday.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1616 (2005) on Friday which extends an existing two-year arms embargo in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for at least one more year.

Uganda and Rwanda have denied statements contained in a report issued on Wednesday by the UN Security Council that the two countries had delayed to give information to officials monitoring arms sanctions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Registration of voters started on Monday in two provinces outside Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as preparations continued for general elections scheduled for 2006, officials said.

Uganda said on Monday it would not allow the newly-created rebel Congolese Revolutionary Movement or any other armed group to launch attacks from its territory on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

At least 13 civilians were killed during the night between Thursday and Friday in the South Kivu province, in east Democratic Republic of Congo.

United Nations peacekeepers and some regular Congolese army units in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today launched their third offensive in just over two weeks to oust Rwandan Hutu militia who daily harass local communities, burning a rebel base camp.