From Reuters:KILIMANYOKA, Congo (Reuters) - Rebel forces advanced on Congo's eastern provincial capital of Goma on Wednesday, threatening to overwhelm government troops and a 17,000-strong U.N. force deployed to halt a return to all-out war.
A Reuters witness 10 km (6 miles) north of Goma heard artillery, machinegun and small arms fire along one of two main roads leading out of the town.
"There's heavy, heavy fighting," he said as a U.N. attack helicopter circled overhead. "You can even see smoke from where the shells have hit. It's maybe 5 km (3 miles) away."
The U.N. peacekeeping force MONUC has been backing Congolese troops in operations against the rebels, whose latest offensive in North Kivu province, racked by continuous violence despite the end of Congo's 1998-2003 regional war, began on Sunday.
MONUC chief Alan Doss told reporters in a video link-up that his force was "stretched to the limit".
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My Comment: The Congolese Army has collapsed, and the U.N. is ineffective. A rebel victory is all but assured.