International News

Rebels, army in fresh
clashes in DRC: UN
Agence France-Presse . Kinshasa

Fresh fighting broke out between rebels and government troops in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Sunday, United Nations sources said, as Angola denied reports it had deployed troops to Congo.
The latest clashes involved government troops (FARDC) and the rebels of the CNDP led by renegade general Laurent Nkunda, the spokesman for the UN mission in Congo (MONUC) Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Paul Dietrich said.
‘There have been heavy weapons clashes since 5:00am (0300 GMT) this morning,’ said Dietrich.
The fighting was concentrated at Ngungu, some 60 kilometres west of Goma, the provincial capital of Nord-Kivu, which is on the border with Sud-Kivu, he added.
‘Thousands of people are arriving at the MONUC base at Ngungu’ to take shelter from the fighting, he said.
Bertrand Bisima, spokesman for the National Congress for the Defence of the People, said he did not know of the clashes.
The fighting that has flared up since August between rebel and government forces, in violation of a January ceasefire, has so far been limited to Nord-Kivu.
Ngungu was the scene of clashes six weeks ago and is on the southwestern edge of the territory controlled by the rebels.