Agence France-Presse,
GOMA, DRCongo: The Democratic Republic of Congo army launched multiple offensives aimed at rebel forces in the troubled east of the country Monday, the United Nations mission in the country (MONUC) said.
The pre-dawn attacks came after rebels loyal to former general Laurent Nkunda claimed Sunday to have routed government forces in two villages in the eastern Nord-Kivu province.
“Government forces launched operations Monday morning in the Mushake area,” around 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Goma, the regional capital, MONUC spokesman Major Vivek Goyal told AFP.
Later Monday the army chief in the region said his troops had taken back several villages from the insurgents and that one soldier was killed and eight wounded in the operation.
“We have had up to now one dead and eight wounded, who have been evacuated by MONUC helicopters,” said General Vainqueur Mayala.
“The insurgents lost several men, including an officer,” he added.
Mayala said the army was advancing with the goal of taking Mushake, where the fighting was centered.
“We lack nothing, neither weapons nor supplies,” he said. “Our goal is to take Mushake as quickly as possible.”
Earlier a spokesman for the rebels had confirmed that they were under fire but added that he did not think “they (government troops) 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.
The Armed Forces of DR Congo (FARDC) have 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.
In Geneva, the UN announced that the renewed fighting has displaced between 400,000 and 500,000 civilians, more than previously estimated. This is in addition to some 800,000 who fled their homes following previous clashes.
In the past year, 600 children between the ages of eight and 17 have been recruited by the different forces on the ground, bringing the current level to 1,600 child soldiers fighting in the region, said UNICEF DR Congo representative Anthony Bloomberg during a press conference.
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.
