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DRC rebels 'under fire'
03/12/2007 17:15 - (SA)
Goma, DRCongo - The Democratic Republic of Congo army launched multiple offensives aimed at rebel forces in the troubled east of the country on Monday, the United Nations mission in the country (Monuc) said.
The pre-dawn attacks came after rebels loyal to former general Laurent Nkunda claimed on Sunday to have routed government forces in two villages in the volatile Nord-Kivu province.
"Government forces launched operations Monday morning in the Mushake area," around 40km north west of Goma, the regional capital, Monuc spokesperson Major Vivek Goyal told AFP.
A spokesperson for the rebels confirmed that they were under fire.
"The Armed Forces of DR Congo (FARDC) have been attacking us all morning. I don't think they will manage to dislodge us from Mushake," Colonel Esaie Munyakazi told AFP by phone - before hanging up as loud explosions were heard in the background.
A separate offensive was later launched against rebels in the town of Kimoka, around 30km north west of Goma.
"We are being attacked on all fronts at the moment. It is war that the FARDC has just declared on us," Major Antoine Balibuno told AFP by phone from Kimoka.
The headquarters of the FARDC in Goma were not contactable by phone early on Monday, but officers on the ground confirmed a widespread operation against insurgent positions was under way.
The FARDC has received heavy reinforcements in recent weeks, with an authorisation to act "to restore the authority of the state" in Nord-Kivu without waiting for a green light from President Joseph Kabila.
Since the end of August, heavy clashes have swept the troubled eastern province, pitting some 4 000 insurgents loyal to the former general against more than 20 000 government troops.
The fighting has displaced nearly 400 000 civilians, according to the United Nations, in addition to some 800 000 who fled their homes following previous clashes.
The United States recently urged Nkunda - a Congolese Tutsi who claims to be protecting his community against Rwandan Hutus - to surrender and go into exile to avoid a bloody showdown with the army.
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