{{DRCongo’s army said it clashed with eastern rebels on Monday, ending a brief lull in days of fighting that has killed and wounded dozens.}}
The violence, the most serious in months, is the first major test for a newly-deployed U.N. Intervention Brigade which has an unprecedented mandate to launch military operations against rebels at the heart of nearly two decades of conflict.
It has fought alongside Congo’s army several times since the latest fighting erupted on Wednesday, but said it did not take part in Monday’s clashes.
The M23 rebels said they were targeted by air strikes and came under heavy weapons fire on Monday afternoon.
“As usual, we expect that ground troops will come in the wake of these bombings,” M23 said in a statement. Congo’s army said rebels had attacked first and it was retaliating.
Congolese army spokesman Colonel Olivier Hamuli said clashes were taking place at Kibati, about 11 km (7 miles) north of Goma, a city of a million people on the Rwandan border.
The rebels briefly seized Goma in November before withdrawing and committing to Ugandan-hosted peace talks. Negotiations have faltered and the renewed fighting has exacerbated tensions between Rwanda and Congo.
Leave a Reply