Tuesday 20 November 2012

Rebel group advances in eastern Congo, witnesses say, nearing regional capital




United Nations Soldiers in the Congo


A Congolese rebel group advanced within four kilometers (2.4 miles) of Goma in the violence-riddled eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday evening, according to eyewitnesses, threatening to take the strategic capital of the region.
Heavy fighting has been reported in recent days as rebel groups battled the Congolese army and U.N. soldiers.
A relative calm on Sunday morning in Goma was broken by fighting close to the town and airport.
"Some government officials and diplomats have fled to Bukavu (in eastern Congo) and across the border to Rwanda," said a journalist in Goma who did not want to be named for his own security.
U.N. Forces in the region of North Kivu said that they deployed attack helicopters and ground troops to respond to the M23 advances on Goma.

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