GOVERNMENT troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo recaptured the strategic rebel-controlled town of Bokungu in the northwest of the country, a rebel spokesman said on Friday. It is the first time rebels in the DRC conceded losing one of their positions to Kinshasa’s forces since their war to oust President Laurent-Desire Kabila began in August 1998. Army troops retook the town on Thursday, after rebels said they had captured Bokungu, in the Equateur province, earlier this week amid heavy fighting, Kin Kiey Mulumba of the main rebel group Congolese Rally for Democracy said.