Saturday, November 8, 2008

DR Congo Troops Shore Up Front-Line Positions

A Congolese soldier carries a wounded comrade on a road north of Kibati) north of the provincial capital of Goma. Fresh fighting erupted Friday between rebels and government forces scattering thousands from a displaced people's camp. (AFP/Walter Astrada)

From AFP:

KIBATI, DR Congo (AFP) – Government troops reinforced front-line positions Saturday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where calm prevailed a day after fighting broke out with rebel forces.

On the heels of a regional summit in Nairobi that called for a ceasefire, a UN official told AFP that Angolan soldiers had joined in combat Friday -- despite Kinshasa's denials that no foreign troops are on Congolese soil.

If the presence of foreign troops is verified, it would mark a significant regionalisation of a conflict that international experts fear could trigger yet another humanitarian catastrophe in central Africa.

The situation appeared calm Saturday along the front line on the northern edge of Kibati, a small town 12 kilometres (seven miles) from the Nord-Kivu provincial capital of Goma.

Read more ....

No comments: