Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila appeared for the first time in public in rebel-held territory in the country's volatile east on Thursday, meeting with religious leaders in what participants said was a push for peace.

Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila, who is accused by the government of supporting Rwanda-backed rebels in the country’s conflict-battered east, on Thursday met with top religious leaders in the rebel-controlled city of Goma.

The former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo Joseph Kabila has arrived in the rebel-held city of Goma in the east of the country for talks with locals, according to sources close to him, after declaring he wanted to help end the crisis in the war-ravaged region.