Rebels 'seize' Congo border town
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo say they have taken the town of Rutshuru near the Ugandan border, reports BBC.
Fierce fighting is continuing for a third day around Kibumba, to the south. The BBC's Thomas Fessy is just a few kilometres from the frontline and says he can hear loud explosions, while UN helicopter gunships fly overheard.
The 17,000-strong UN force in DR Congo has been accused of not doing enough to halt the rebel advance and its head has appealed for more troops.
The rebels led by renegade General Laurent Nkunda say they want to take the regional capital, Goma, 30km south of Kibumba, where thousands of civilians have fled.
Our reporter says after the seizure of Rutshuru, Gen Nkunda's men now control a long stretch of the road to Goma.
The UN Security Council late Tuesday called for an immediate ceasefire and issued a statement in which it "strongly condemned the offensive operations" against its peacekeepers.
DR Congo's President Joseph Kabila has appealed for a multi-national force to help restore order.
UN forces have been using attack helicopters and tanks to try to stop the rebel advance, but they say the rebels work in small groups, making them difficult to locate and repulse.
Alan Doss, the head of the UN mission in DR Congo (Monuc), told the BBC his forces were stretched to the limit and needed urgent reinforcements.
He said his troops would do their utmost to stop major towns in the region from falling to the Tutsi rebels led by Gen Nkunda.
"We are going to remain there, and we are going to act against any effort to take over a city or major population centre by force," he said from Kinshasa, the Congolese capital.
Monuc has the largest peacekeeping force in the world in DR Congo but has come under criticism from residents in the east of the country for being unable to protect them.
The head of UN peacekeeping, Alain Le Roy, briefed the Security Council, and said the appeal for more troops had been "heard clearly by all member states".
Rutshuru houses tens of thousands of displaced people and dozens of aid workers are usually based there.
A UN worker said thousands of people were fleeing Rutshuru heading toward the Ugandan border to the north.
Fierce fighting is continuing for a third day around Kibumba, to the south. The BBC's Thomas Fessy is just a few kilometres from the frontline and says he can hear loud explosions, while UN helicopter gunships fly overheard.
The 17,000-strong UN force in DR Congo has been accused of not doing enough to halt the rebel advance and its head has appealed for more troops.
The rebels led by renegade General Laurent Nkunda say they want to take the regional capital, Goma, 30km south of Kibumba, where thousands of civilians have fled.
Our reporter says after the seizure of Rutshuru, Gen Nkunda's men now control a long stretch of the road to Goma.
The UN Security Council late Tuesday called for an immediate ceasefire and issued a statement in which it "strongly condemned the offensive operations" against its peacekeepers.
DR Congo's President Joseph Kabila has appealed for a multi-national force to help restore order.
UN forces have been using attack helicopters and tanks to try to stop the rebel advance, but they say the rebels work in small groups, making them difficult to locate and repulse.
Alan Doss, the head of the UN mission in DR Congo (Monuc), told the BBC his forces were stretched to the limit and needed urgent reinforcements.
He said his troops would do their utmost to stop major towns in the region from falling to the Tutsi rebels led by Gen Nkunda.
"We are going to remain there, and we are going to act against any effort to take over a city or major population centre by force," he said from Kinshasa, the Congolese capital.
Monuc has the largest peacekeeping force in the world in DR Congo but has come under criticism from residents in the east of the country for being unable to protect them.
The head of UN peacekeeping, Alain Le Roy, briefed the Security Council, and said the appeal for more troops had been "heard clearly by all member states".
Rutshuru houses tens of thousands of displaced people and dozens of aid workers are usually based there.
A UN worker said thousands of people were fleeing Rutshuru heading toward the Ugandan border to the north.