Congo rebels advance despite ceasefire
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
KANYABAYONGA, (Congo), Nov 18 (AP): On one side of this mountaintop ghost town, a line of black-booted rebels approaches on foot with rockets and tin boxes of ammunition, seizing new territory with each footstep despite promises of a cease-fire.
On the other side, government soldiers in flip-flops balancing portable generators and luggage on their heads have begun to flee.
In between, the vast Central African nation's deepening humanitarian crisis is laid bare: Thousands of desperate civilians who used to live in this eastern Congo town huddle against coils of concertina wire surrounding a base for U.N. peacekeepers, waiting nervously for the rebels.
"We are hungry and thirsty, but we don't want any aid. We want security," said 30-year-old Jeff Machozi, who built a makeshift tent three days ago with tree branches and bamboo he ripped out of the earth. "We want this war to stop."
Clashes between fighters loyal to rebel leader Laurent Nkunda and the army and its allied spear-wielding militias exploded in August and has displaced at least 250,000 people.
On the other side, government soldiers in flip-flops balancing portable generators and luggage on their heads have begun to flee.
In between, the vast Central African nation's deepening humanitarian crisis is laid bare: Thousands of desperate civilians who used to live in this eastern Congo town huddle against coils of concertina wire surrounding a base for U.N. peacekeepers, waiting nervously for the rebels.
"We are hungry and thirsty, but we don't want any aid. We want security," said 30-year-old Jeff Machozi, who built a makeshift tent three days ago with tree branches and bamboo he ripped out of the earth. "We want this war to stop."
Clashes between fighters loyal to rebel leader Laurent Nkunda and the army and its allied spear-wielding militias exploded in August and has displaced at least 250,000 people.