UN sends in troops as rebel battles continue

UN soldiers are boosting numbers in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as battling armed groups continue fighting on all fronts.

Renewed fighting yesterday saw rebels again seize control of a major government army base at Rumangabo, 50 kilometres north of the eastern regional capital Goma.

The soldiers under Congolese rebel leader general Laurent Nkunda surprised the barracks town before dawn and by midday fighting had spread to nearby villages.

Nkunda’s army, who call themselves the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), claimed the attack was in retaliation for encroachments by government troops on rebel positions in recent days.

Rebel spokesman Bertrand Bisimwa told the Irish Examiner:

“They tried to attack one of our positions this morning and now we are responding to the attack. There are many casualties. The situation is very bad.”

Mr Bisimwa said it was up to government troops whether the fighting continued.

Thousands of villagers were seeing fleeing as government tanks moved in to defend other towns.

Rebel claims of seizing the town of Rugari, further south, could not be confirmed.

Rebels loyal to Nkunda — who claims to be protecting members of his Tutsi ethnic group in the region — temporarily took control of the base in early in October, stealing heavy artillery including an anti-aircraft missile.

Extra blue-helmet peacekeeping troops with the Congo UN mission (MONUC) are now set to be redeployed from the capital Kinshasa to the east, where renewed clashes since August have forced MONUC to ramp up patrols.

The move comes as a MONUC soldier was hospitalised last week after protesting villagers stoned him leaving multiple injuries to his face.

Militia are also increasingly frustrating efforts by aid groups to deliver much needed medical supplies and food to the region.

The extra soldiers are expected to arrive in the next two months. At least two military companies numbering more than 300 soldiers from Uruguay will be redeployed from the capital to the war-torn region.

“They are going to the hot areas,” added the senior UN military source.

The UN is considering a separate request for two extra battalions or more than 1,600 MONUC soldiers. The Democratic Republic of Congo has the world’s largest UN peacekeeping force with about 18,000 international troops.

The World Food Program says 200,000 extra people have been displaced in eastern Congo by fighting in the last eight weeks bringing the total to more than 1.4 million people driven from their homes since last year.