Matek, what happened to the rebels' advance southward toward South Kivu border
with North Kivu? The goings got chopped off or they were summarily surrounded
and executed?
Ocii
--- On Thu, 11/13/08, Matek Matek <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
From: Matek Matek <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Voice-Of-Uganda] Rebels advance in DRC
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Received: Thursday, November 13, 2008, 5:07 PM
Rebels advance in DRC
Article By:
Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:16
Rebels in the east of Democratic Republic of Congo were on Thursday on the
outskirts of Kanyabayonga town, the scene of looting by government forces early
this week, rebel and other sources said. "We are the entrance of Kanyabayonga",
Bertrand Bisimwa, spokesperson for the National Congress for the Defence of the
People (CNDP) led by renegade Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda, told AFP by
telephone. Two independent sources said the rebels, as of Wednesday night, had
advanced to about 10 kilometres south of Kanyabayonga, which is around 175
kilometres north of the Nord-Kivu capital Goma. Bisimwa said the rebels had
advanced almost without a fight, as government troops — who the United Nations
says carried out widespread looting and "acts of brutality" in Kanyabayonga at
the start of the week — had fled. "The situation is calm," the rebel
spokesperson said. "We can see that the adversary is still fleeing."
Kanyabayonga is strategic because it is the meeting
point of main roads in Nord-Kivu, and thus a point of control over the north
of the conflict-stricken province. Nkunda's rebels — who for more than two
weeks have been 15 kilometres outside Goma — already control Mirangi village,
the last community on the way into Kanyabayonga, one of the independent sources
said. Spokesmen for the UN mission in Congo (MONUC), which has a base in
Kanyabayonga, could not be contacted Thursday. On Wednesday, MONUC blamed
rebels for forcing thousands of displaced people to flee a refugee camp, as
President Joseph Kabila's government in Kinshasa promised to punish soldiers
who took part in the Kanyabayonga rampage. Several thousand civilians had
sought refuge near a MONUC base at Kiwanja, about 80 kilometres north of Goma,
to escape fighting last week between the rebels and pro-government militias.
"MONUC has noticed since yesterday (Tuesday) evening that the vast majority of
displaced who were sheltering around the
base at Kiwanja have left their temporary camp," said MONUC spokesperson
Sylvie Van Der Wildenberg. "We have strong fears that these people have been
forced to go back" to their homes, she said, adding that MONUC had reports
"indicating that the CNDP told them to leave the area". "If that's the case,
that would constitute a serious violation of international law," she said. The
rebels seized Kiwanja on 5 November and began a mopping-up operation to kill
remaining pro-government Mai-Mai militia who they said had melted into the
local population. Human Rights Watch has said at least 50 civilians were
killed, citing local sources who said the rebels had sought out "enemy
collaborators". Kinshasa meanwhile promised to punish soldiers who engaged in
pillaging this week in villages in the Kanyabayonga region. "Whoever committed
acts of violence will be punished," government spokesperson Lambert Mende told
AFP. MONUC said government soldiers on Monday and
Tuesday took part "in looting and acts of brutality against the civilian
population in the Kanyabayonga area," adding that three of the looters were
killed. Several displaced persons' camps have been emptied and razed in areas
of Nord-Kivu province that have fallen under rebel control over the past two
weeks, aid agencies reported. An estimated 50 000 people were reported to have
fled three camps around Rutshuru, a few kilometres from Kiwanja.
AFP
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