Rwanda accuses DR Congo of bombing its territory
A Congolese government tank prepares to deploy for fighting against M23 rebels, at an operating base in Kanyaruchinya, north of Goma, eastern Congo, Friday, Aug. 23, 2013. Photo: APRwanda accused the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday of shelling Rwandan territory and killing a woman, saying such "provocation" could no longer be tolerated.
Rwanda said Thursday that more than 30 bombs and rockets have been fired across the border in the last week by the DRC military. It said one bomb fired Thursday morning killed a woman and seriously injured her two-month-old baby in the town of Rubavu.
In a statement, it accused Congo of trying to draw Rwanda into the conflict between the DRC army and M23 rebels in the city of Goma, which sits on the Congolese-Rwandan border.
Congo and a group of United Nations experts have accused Rwanda of supporting M23, an allegation Rwanda denies.
The U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo, MONUSCO, said there was new fighting Thursday between DRC forces and M23 in Kibati, north of Goma.
U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said the U.N. force is supporting the DRC army in what he called an operation to end M23\’s shelling of populated areas.
"The U.N. force continues to support this operations including with the use of artillery and attack helicopters."
On Wednesday, a U.N. peacekeeper from Tanzania was killed in clashes with M23.
Haq said members of the U.N. Security Council held discussions on the DRC Thursday.
The United Nations, which has a large peacekeeping operation in Congo, recently deployed a 3,000-member "Intervention Brigade" to fight rebel groups in the east and help stabilize the volatile region.
M23 briefly took control of Goma last year and still controls parts of North Kivu province.
The group is made up of former rebels who were integrated into the Congolese army in a 2009 peace agreement, but later deserted after complaining of discrimination and poor treatment.
France is seeking an emergency UN Security Council meeting following the latest upsurge in fighting, reports the AFP news agency.
At least 800,000 people have fled their homes in DR Congo since the M23 launched its rebellion in April 2012.
Eastern DR Congo has been wracked by conflict since 1994, when Hutu militias fled across the border from Rwanda after carrying out a genocide against Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
Fighting last week reportedly left more than 80 people dead.
Rebels seized Goma in November 2012 but withdrew under diplomatic pressure.
Source: Agencies
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