The U.N. special envoy to the Democratic Republic of Congo has met with the country's main rebel leader as part of a bid to end the civil war in eastern Congo.

Former Nigerian President and UN special envoy to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Olusegun Obasanjo (file photo)

The envoy, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, held talks Saturday with rebel leader Laurent Nkunda in the rebel-held town of Jomba in volatile North Kivu province.

Mr. Obasanjo met Friday with Congolese President Joseph Kabila in the capital, Kinshasa.

The meetings come as rebels have advanced amid renewed fighting and a crumbling ceasefire in the east.

U.N. officials Friday confirmed that Nkunda's forces have seized the town of Ishasha, near the Ugandan border, and some 13,000 refugees have fled into Uganda over the last few days to escape the fighting.

Nkunda's forces have denied violating a cease-fire agreement.  They say their actions are targeted at Rwandan Hutu rebels, and not Congolese forces.

Mr. Obasanjo's also met with Mr. Kabila and Nkunda in a trip to the DRC earlier this month.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.