Congo ? Doctors struggled Sunday to contain an outbreak of cholera in a sprawling refugee camp near Congo’s eastern provincial capital of Goma, as renewed fighting ignited fears that patients could scatter and launch an epidemic.

Congolese soldiers and rebels were seen less than 800 yards apart near Goma, where rebel leader Laurent Nkunda declared a cease-fire on Oct. 29 as his forces reached the edge of the city.

Rebels and soldiers clashed Thursday just north of the Kibati refugee camp, seven miles from Goma, and soldiers who retreated last week were digging in Sunday at a new front line.

Some 50,000 refugees have crowded around Kibati, some taken into log cabins by villagers, others living in tents or hastily built beehive-shaped huts. Thousands who sleep out in the open huddled under plastic sheeting Sunday as curtains of rain pounded down.

Doctors Without Borders said it treated 13 new cases of cholera in Kibati on Sunday and has seen 45 cases since Friday. The agency’s Dr. Rafaela Gentilini said shortages of water and latrines were making the outbreak “really dangerous.”