Rebels, army clash in DRC
2008-08-28 20:12
Goma - Clashes broke out on Thursday in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between the army and rebels loyal to a renegade Tutsi general, the military and UN said.
The 17 000-strong UN peacekeeping force MONUC said the fighting was the most intense since a peace deal signed in January.
"It's an unhappy development," said spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Jean Paul Dietrich. "We have sent armoured vehicles to patrol the area and combat helicopters are standing by ready to take-off if needed."
Both the FARDC armed forces and General Laurent Nkunda's rebel CNDP (National Congress for the Defence of the People) blamed each other for starting the fighting some 50km north of Goma.
"We do not understand why they attacked us," FARDC General Mayala Kyama Vainqueur told AFP by telephone.
The general said the CNDP attacked his troops in the early hours of the morning in Kanombe, with civilians fleeing the on-going fighting - accusations that the rebels denied.
"The FARDC opened fire on our positions in Kanombe, Kabaya and Rugari," CNDP spokesperson Rene Abandi told AFP, adding that the attack was in response to the rebel group raising its flag in a nearby town.
Some 15 seriously wounded FARDC soldiers were admitted to hospital in Rutshuru, according to a nurse at the hospital.
The January deal, known as the Goma Agreement, committed the warring factions to a ceasefire, followed by a gradual disengagement of troops on the ground before full demobilisation.
But armed clashes have continued and there have been numerous attacks on civilians who have been forced to flee the fighting.