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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Fighting Erupts between Rwandan and DR Congo Soldiers |
| 2014-06-12 |
| [AnNahar] A gunbattle erupted Wednesday between soldiers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... and Rwandan forces on their volatile border, local Congolese officials said, adding to tensions between the rival nations. The fighting began after Rwandan troops crossed the border into the restive province of North Kivu and kidnapped a Congolese soldier, provincial army front man Lieutenant-Colonel told AFP. "Our troops reacted forcefully and the (Rwandans) were sent back," he said, adding that the situation was now calm but tense. He did not say if there had been any casualties or give details about the fate of the soldier. Kigali and Kinshasa have long been at odds, with Rwanda accused by the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... of backing rebels in the strife-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rwanda fought against the central government in Kinshasa in Congo's two wars in 1996-97 and 1998-2003 and has been involved in several attempts to destabilize the country, backing uprisings by Tutsi-dominated militias. However since the defeat in November of a Kigali-backed rebellion led by the M23 group, the border has remained relatively calm. Local officials said Wednesday's fighting erupted before dawn in Kanyesheza, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of the lovely provincial capital Goma, and lasted over four hours. "I heard shooting... people panicked," said one local resident who did not want to be named. But the governor of North Kivu, Julien Paluku, sought to play down the incident. "There was shooting between elements from the Rwandan army and the FARDC (the Congolese army) in Kanyesheza," he told AFP. "They were minor incidents, not fighting between two armies," he said, accusing the Rwandan army of sparking the fighting. There has been no comment as yet from the Rwandan side. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |