Nairobi/Kinshasa - The United Nations has blasted rebel Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda for saying he plans to expand his rebellion from the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to encompass the entire sprawling Central African nation.

"MONUC (the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo) and the international community will not tolerate this new attempt to destabilize the political process," MONUC said in a statement late on Friday evening.

Nairobi- Kenya has protested to the United States and the European Union after diplomats were accused of pressuring the head of Kenya's electoral commission to resign.

The Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) has faced strong criticism from an independent commission probing the causes of the chaos and violence that followed last December's disputed presidential elections.

Nairobi/N'Djamena - Aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has shut down two offices in eastern Chad and evacuated its staff after armed robberies, the charity said Thursday.

MSF said that all activities in Ade and Goz Beida had been suspended indefinitely, leaving 70,000 people without access to health services.

"The fact that MSF is being attacked on a regular basis threatens

our and other aid agencies' capacity to provide assistance to populations in eastern Chad," Karline, head of mission for MSF in Chad said in a statement.

Nairobi - Tensions are rising at the sprawling Dadaab refugee camp complex in North-West Kenya as a massive influx of Somali refugees fleeing a brutal insurgency across the border stretches the facilities to breaking point, a UN official said Thursday.

The complex, made up of three separate camps stretching over 50 square kilometres, now hosts 215,000 refugees - the vast majority of them Somali. It was set up 16 years ago to hold only 90,000.

Local residents, who have long been unhappy with the impact of the camp on the community, are losing patience with the seemingly endless stream of refugees.

They have been staging demonstrations and have handed over an official letter of protest to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).

Nairobi/Abuja - A Nigerian militant group has said that none of its fighters were among hundreds of youths arrested in the oil-rich yet restive Niger Delta province.

Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa said Tuesday that over 400 youths were arrested following reports that militants were recruiting to replace those killed during a recent upsurge in attacks on oil facilities.

Nairobi, Kinshasa  - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Tuesday called on warring factions in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to respect the civilian population.

The ICRC said over 100,000 civilians have been forced to flee since fighting resumed between renegade Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda's forces and government troops in late August.