A woman walks with her belongings near a UN mission in DR Congo (MONUC) base at Kiwanja, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Goma, the main city of eastern DR Congo's restive Nord-Kivu region. Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo swept to the outskirts of a strategic crossroads town Thursday where hundreds of government troops and UN peacekeepers stood in their way. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)Rebels Advance On Strategic Eastern DR
Congo Town -- Yahoo News/AFP
Congo Town -- Yahoo News/AFP
GOMA, DR Congo (AFP) – Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo swept to the outskirts of a strategic crossroads town Thursday where hundreds of government troops and UN peacekeepers stood in their way.
"We are at the entrance of Kanyabayonga," Bertrand Bisimwa, spokesman 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 the town, which is around 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of the Nord-Kivu capital Goma.
Peacekeepers with the UN Mission in the DR Congo (MONUC) and FARDC government forces had "reinforced their positions at Kanyabayonga," MONUC's military spokesman Jean-Paul Dietrich said.
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My Comment: This war is going to drag on for a very long time. While the rebels cannot conquer the entire country, I will expect them to control eastern Congo. The U.N. and other foreign troops, in cooperation with Congo soldiers, have proven to be ineffective.