DRC: Civilians displaced as army and rebels clash again in Rutshuru

Photo: Arthur Asiimwe/IRIN

Fighting between government troops and rebels soldiers following Laurent Nkunda is displacing civilians in eastern DRC

KINSHASA, 4 September 2008 (IRIN) - Fresh clashes broke out on 3 September between government troops and rebel forces in Rutshuru district in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, prompting civilians to flee their homes.

“There was an exchange of heavy weapons fire in the village of Ntamugenga from yesterday afternoon until this morning,” resident Benjamin Mbusa told IRIN on 4 September.

The UN Mission in DRC, MONUC, which has been the target of protests by Rutshuru residents, confirmed that fighting had resumed.

The army “retook Ntamugenga, which had been under the control of the CNDP”, said MONUC’s military spokesman, Col Jean-Paul Dietrich, referring to the National Congress for the Defence of the People, led by renegade general Laurent Nkunda.

“There were also some exchanges of gunfire in the Rugari region,” he added.

Humanitarian workers in the area said the renewed fighting had caused some civilian displacement, but precise details were not immediately available.

MONUC-run Radio Okapi reported that civilians had been seen heading in the direction of Rubare.

Officials in the 8th military region accused the CNDP of attacking their positions in villages such as Rutchiro, Bushegere, Kahungu, Muhimbira and towards the hills of Karika.

On 3 September, at least one person was wounded and a MONUC vehicle damaged during a demonstration against peacekeepers in the town of Rutshuru.

One witness said the town’s residents resented MONUC’s efforts to maintain a buffer zone between the two sides, in line with a January peace pact, and rather wanted the national army to repel Nkunda’s forces.

ei/am/mw