A Congolese army tank fires a shell towards an M23 position in
Kanyarucinya, around 10km north of Goma, in the east of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo on Wednesday. PHOTO | AFP
Posted Thursday, July 18 2013 at 21:25
In Summary
Exchanges of automatic weapons fire grew
heavier in the late afternoon, suggesting that army soldiers were
unleashing a ground offensive.
GOMA, Thursday. The Congolese army on Wednesday
stepped up an offensive against M23 rebels in the country’s volatile
east, shelling positions north of the flashpoint city of Goma.
Backed by tanks, mortars and heavy machine guns
mounted on gun carriages, the regular soldiers pounded M23 positions on
the hills overlooking Kanyarucinya and Kibati in the restive east of the
country. As on Tuesday, three army helicopters also targeted rebel positions, an AFP photographer said.
Exchanges of automatic weapons fire grew heavier
in the late afternoon, suggesting that army soldiers were unleashing a
ground offensive.
The deadliest clashes in months in the
mineral-rich region broke out on Sunday, with at least 130 people killed
including 10 soldiers, according to a toll given by the DR Congo army
on Monday.
The M23 is an armed group launched by Tutsi former
soldiers who mutinied from the Congolese army in 2012 and occupied the
flashpoint city of Goma for 10 days in November before withdrawing under
international pressure.
