UNITED NATIONS ( CNN ) -- Rebel forces have declared a cease-fire after four days of fighting in the North Kivu province of eastern Congo , the French ambassador to the United Nations said after Security Council talks on the unfolding humanitarian crisis . Congolese soldiers and displaced civilians move into Goma on Wednesday , fleeing advancing rebels . Laurent Nkunda , the Congolese Tutsi general who leads troops of the National Congress for the Defense of the People , ordered the cease-fire , Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert told reporters . `` We hope that it will stand , and we hope that tomorrow Mr. Nkunda will announce that he stops his offensive , '' Ripert said , adding that he expected the the council would condemn the military operation . He called the humanitarian situation `` very alarming , '' said more than 50,000 people `` are on the road , '' and expressed hope that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would send a high-level envoy to the region for talks `` as soon as possible . '' Representatives of European countries `` are talking together '' about how best to ease the situation , Ripert said . `` We are looking into the most effective and fastest way of helping MONUC , '' he said , using the French acronym for the U.N. mission in Congo . Nkunda has accused the Congolese government of failing to protect the Tutsi tribe from Rwandan Hutu militia in Congo . Ripert cited reports of fighting at the DRC 's border with Rwanda and called on neighboring countries `` to use restraint and not to interfere . '' News of the cease-fire was embraced by Samuel Nagbe , a representative of the relief agency Oxfam , in the eastern Congolese city of Goma . `` We are very happy that , at least , the fighting is going to stop , '' he told CNN . He called for the factions to meet `` to find a lasting situation to the crisis . '' Nkuda 's troops were advancing after fighting between the rebels and government forces led thousands of people to flee south toward Goma , capital of North Kivu province in eastern Congo . Conditions in the region were `` continuing to deteriorate rapidly , '' the medical charity Doctors Without Borders said in a statement posted on its Web site . Madnodje Mounoubai , spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo , said government troops were leaving the city , which was n't on the front lines . He said he did n't know where the soldiers were going , but suspected they were headed to areas of heavy fighting . Ban said at midday he was `` alarmed at the escalation of violence '' over the prior 24 hours and warned of a `` humanitarian crisis . '' In Washington , U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters the agency was sending Assistant Secretary Jendayi Frazer to the region as an envoy . `` We 're working as best we can to minimize or defuse the situation , get more troops in there , '' McCormack said . Attacks by CNDP rebels have uprooted hundreds of thousands of displaced people from camps run by the United Nations and other organizations . `` The humanitarian situation is quite dire , '' Mounoubai told CNN by phone from Kinshasa , Congo 's capital . `` We have internally displaced people streaming out of camps . Both parties are blocking the U.N. from reaching desperately needy people to evacuate , '' he added . `` I can not emphasize how desperate the situation on the ground is . '' The region 's instability endangers aid workers , some of whom have joined the exodus . Michael Arunga , a spokesman for World Vision , told CNN the organization 's workers had fled to the Rwandan border , where they were assessing the situation and caring for civilians crossing into the area . Arunga said he himself had fled from Goma , where he could hear shootings at night . `` For agencies to operate on the ground , we need a peaceful environment , '' he said . Doctors Without Borders said that on Sunday , medical teams in Rutshuru treated 70 wounded , and had been working round the clock since . Some of the people who sought help had been on the run for weeks , said the group , which described the situation as `` extremely volatile . '' Doctors have been working mostly in towns and camps in and around Kitchanga , Masisi , Mweso , Nyanzale and Kayna . DWB says it is the only international organization still providing medical and humanitarian assistance in Kitchanga , Masisi , Mweso and Rutshuru .
NEW : UN says rebel troops to adhere to cease - fire . 45,000 flee refugee camp in matter of hours . U.N. says its forces still in control of Goma . Congo : Rwandan forces to fight with minority rebel forces .