British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, centre, visits a refugee camp near Goma on Saturday. (Jerome Delay/Associated Press)More soldiers may be needed to contain the fighting in Congo, Western diplomats suggested Saturday.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband met Congolese and Rwandan officials Saturday to discuss the violence in the country and the 250,000 refugees who have fled their homes since August.

The two ministers met Congo President Joseph Kabila in the capital, Kinshasa, before going to the eastern city of Goma, the centre of the recent fighting.

The armed forces of Congo, also known as Congo-Kinshasa, are battling rebel forces led by Laurent Nkunda. His forces almost reached Goma on Wednesday, before declaring a ceasefire. That sparked the diplomatic meetings.

While the UN has 17,000 soldiers in the country, who are there to reinforce a 1999 ceasefire, few of them are in the eastern area where Nkunda is strong.

The top U.S. diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, said the UN forces "have the capability to support the civilian population, but certainly additional strength has been needed for some time."

Miliband said the UN needs to shift forces from other parts of Congo to reinforce the 850 UN soldiers in Goma, the BBC reported.

Britain's Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Mark Malloch-Brown, said European Union troops could be sent in to bolster the UN forces. "If everything else fails we cannot stand back and watch violence erupt," he told the BBC.

Displaced people walk back towards their homes about 40 kilometres north of Goma on Saturday. (Jerome Delay/Associated Press)"Hopefully with some reinforcements, the UN force will be able to contain the situation."

As the diplomats met, rebels were telling refugees in camps near Goma to leave. The French aid group Médecins Sans Frontières said the refugees urgently need clean water, blankets, shelter and food.

The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has its roots in the 1994 genocide of Rwanda. Nkunda says he is fighting to protect Tutsis from Hutu rebels. Some Hutus are being accused of taking part in the genocide.

Kouchner and Miliband were to fly to Rwanda Saturday night.

With files from the Associated Press