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DRC army offensive 'slows'
10/12/2007 10:06 - (SA)
Kingi - A week-old army offensive against Tutsi-dominated rebels in eastern Congo has been slowed as insurgents dig into hilltop positions around their rugged stronghold, say military officials.
Government forces threw more than 20 000 soldiers into a major operation in North Kivu province nearly a week ago aimed at forcibly disarming some 4 000 fighters loyal to renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda and ending an insurgency.
In the first few days the army seized some key positions Nkunda's forces had held for months, but progress had slowed.
"Nothing will stop the offensive ... the plan is to take all their positions to end this once and for all," said Colonel Delphin Kahimbi, army operations commander in North Kivu.
The army began bombarding rebel-held areas on Tuesday around Kingi and Kabati villages, 25km west of the provincial capital, Goma, on a road north into Nkunda's fiefdom.
Rebels call for ceasefire
Artillery units blasted rebel positions on surrounding hillsides with rockets late on Saturday, silencing distant machinegun fire only momentarily before it started up elsewhere.
"We are firing artillery on demand from our infantry. We are hitting the insurgents in their positions, in their caves," said Kahimbi.
However, Major PK Tiwari, military spokesperson in North Kivu for DRC's United Nations peacekeeping mission, said the army and rebels were still fighting for control over the same ground on Sunday.
He said: "There has been small arms fire in Kingi, Kabati, and north of Mushake (a town taken by government forces on Wednesday) since early this morning ... There has been no change."
Rene Abandi, a civilian spokesperson for Nkunda's movement, said on Sunday that the rebels were calling for a ceasefire, but said there was little prospect of any truce yet.
Thousands of civilians urged to leave
Abandi said: "We are calling for a ceasefire in order to protect civilians in both our zones and theirs. I don't think there is the will on the part of the government to do it ... so we will continue our strong resistance."
Nkunda's military commanders were unavailable for comment.
Earlier this week, the United Nations urged thousands of civilians grouped around the town of Kirolirwe, 40km northwest of Goma, to leave the rebel stronghold ahead of what it said would be inevitable military operations in the area.
In addition to the town's permanent population, some 3 000 families, mainly from Congo's Tutsi minority, had gathered in a refugee camp there since fighting flared again in late August after Nkunda abandoned a January peace deal and withdrew thousands of his loyalists from special mixed army brigades.
The families were among more than 400 000 people displaced by fighting between the army, Nkunda loyalists, Rwandan Hutu rebels, and local Mai Mai militia in North Kivu this year.
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