Rwanda rebels raid Congo village Attacks on Congolese army bases have intensified recently At least five people have been killed in clashes between Congolese troops and Rwandan rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile east. The fighting began after some 350 rebels attacked the village of Kingi in Kivu province, Congolese military sources and local officials said.
They said the insurgents went from house to house, looting money and food. In another incident, UN troops said they killed 10 local militias in a clash near Bunia, in the north-east. The Rwandan rebels attacked Kingi, using rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, local officials said. "We exchanged fire head on. There were 20 metres between us and the attackers," Congolese Major David Rugayi said. "While we fought we shouted insults at each other. So we could identify (the attackers) as FDLR rebels," he added. The FDLR consists mainly of Rwandan Hutus who fled across the border after leading the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, in which some 800,000 people - mainly Tutsis - were killed. The rebels - who have been launching incursions into Rwanda - have recently stepped up their raids on eastern Congolese villages and army positions to get food and weapons. Bunia ambush A UN spokesman said the fighting near Bunia in Ituri province broke out after a UN patrol came under attack by a militia group dominated by the Lendu ethnic group. Some 10,000 UN peacekeepers are in DR Congo He said two Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers had been injured during the fighting. Reinforcements and combat helicopters were sent to scene. The UN force, which was deployed last year to end months of violence between rival ethnic militia, says incidents of robbery, looting and harassment against civilians have been on the increase in the area. -------------------------------------------- This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
