The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) army said on Monday it had resumed control of an eastern town seized by rebel forces over the weekend and the heavy fighting between the two sides had ended.
Forces loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda confirmed the clashes in the eastern Nord-Kivu region that prompted thousands of people to flee their homes on Sunday were over, and said they were waiting to hear about possible talks.
Colonel Delphin Kahimbi, the army’s second-in-command in Nord-Kivu, said it had resumed ”total control” of the town of Rugari, in the hills north of the provincial capital, Goma, which Nkunda’s men had infiltrated late on Saturday.
The rebels had also briefly cut access to a key road late on Saturday before being repelled by a force from the United Nations mission in DRC (Monuc).
”We have repelled the attack by the rebels who are entrenched in the hills,” Kahimbi said, adding that he was heading to the area to establish casualty figures.
The army said on Sunday that two of its soldiers had died, while Nkunda’s men claimed to have killed dozens of troops.
Nkunda spokesperson Seraphin Mirindi told Agence France-Presse by telephone on Monday: ”The fighting ended last night. This morning it’s calm.
”We are keeping to our positions, waiting for the government’s decision on having direct talks with us.”
President Joseph Kabila has ruled out negotiating with Nkunda and during a visit to Goma last week ordered his troops to prepare to disarm rebels ”by force if necessary”.
Nkunda, who controls about 5 000 forces, has proclaimed himself guardian of minority Tutsis in eastern DRC. He has accused the government of operating with Hutus implicated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which it denies. — AFP
