They are being deployed to protect the eastern DRC provincial town against advancing M23 mutineers.
United Nations and Democratic Republic of Congo troops are reinforcing their presence in the key provincial city of Goma in the east of the country to guard against attack by rebels who have seized other towns in the area over the weekend. There were reports that rebels of the M23 Movement were advancing on the town.
Aljazeera Television yesterday July 11 reported that the DRC government was moving a US-trained battalion from the north of the country to eastern Goma. The battalion, previously used in the hunt for Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) fighters, will join about 7,000 troops already in North Kivu Province, of which Goma is the capital. Meanwhile, the UN mission in the country, MONUSCO, was said to be moving Ghanaian troops and Guatemalan, Jordanian and Egyptian special forces from its 18,000-strong peacekeeping force to the city, a UN official was quoted as saying.
MONUSCO's Deputy Force Commander, General Adrian Foster of Britain, has already moved to Goma to direct the UN operation, as UN troops will help with planning, logistics, fuel, transport and other support. The BBC said Congolese soldiers had been seen entering the strategic town of Rutshuru - 70 km north of Goma - that was captured by rebels over the weekend. Kiwanja, 20 km further north, was also reportedly retaken by the army after M23 fighters left the town. A rebel commander told the press on Tuesday July 10 that they did not intend to attack Goma and wanted to negotiate a new peace deal.
The European Union on Tuesday said it was so concerned about the situation in eastern DRC. The head of diplomacy, Catherine Ashton, called on Rwanda to stop all support to active armed groups in the region, Radio France Internationale, RFI said. In another meeting, the UN also expressed concern at reports that rebels were receiving foreign support and were well armed and trained. Rwanda has been accused by the UN, DRC government and various international charities of supporting M23 Movement rebels.
In a bid to find a lasting solution to the worsening humanitarian crisis and reduce rising tension between Kinshasa and Kigali, a meeting of ministers from Great Lakes countries was to hold yesterday July 11 in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
