Congo military accuses Rwanda of invasion; rebels seize town

By AL-HADJI KUDRA MALIRO and JUSTIN KABUMBA
Associated Press

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s military accused Rwanda of “no less than an invasion” after M23 rebels captured a key town on Monday. The military vowed that Congolese forces would defend their homeland, marking a dramatic escalation in tensions between the two Central African neighbors.

The statement from Gen. Sylvain Ekenge, spokesman for the military governor of North Kivu province, came hours after the town of Bunagana fell into the hands of the M23.

The government of Rwanda has strongly denied accusations over the years that is supports the rebel group.

Bunagana is 60 kilometers (37 miles) northeast of Goma, a city of nearly 2 million that also serves as a hub for international aid organizations and the U.N. peacekeeping mission known as MONUSCO.

Bunagana is an important transit point for goods being imported into Congo from as far away as China. A day earlier, a government official had accused the rebels of wanting to seize Bunagana in order to financially paralyze Goma.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s M23 rebels have seized control of the eastern town of Bunagana, residents said Monday, in what appears to be the insurgents’ latest gain in its weeks-long offensive against the military.

After a night of violent fighting, the rebels took hold of the town around 8 a.m., according to Innocent Ndagije, a civic leader in Bunagana. People fleeing the town reported seeing more rebels coming across the nearby border from Uganda, he said.

“We deplore the M23 rebel attack and call on the Congolese government to track down and neutralize these rebel groups so that state authority can return,” he said.

Bunagana is 60 kilometers (37 miles) northeast of Goma, a city of nearly 2 million that also serves as a hub for international aid organizations and the U.N. peacekeeping mission known as MONUSCO.

There was no immediate confirmation of Bunagana’s fall from the Congolese military, which had held control of the town near the border with Uganda.

However, Ugandan security officials believe the Congolese border town is now “under the control of M23” rebels, said Uganda police spokesman Fred Enanga.

More than 100 Congolese soldiers, fleeing fierce fighting with rebels, crossed the border and “surrendered” to Ugandan officials, he told reporters, adding that the Congolese soldiers will be moved to Rutshuru, another eastern Congo town near the Uganda border.

A spokesman for North Kivu’s military governor said that an official statement from Congolese authorities on the situation would be released later.

About a decade ago, the M23 rebels seized Goma and held it for weeks. Part of the peace deal to end that conflict involved integrating rebel fighters into Congo’s military.

However, the rebels recently took up arms again, saying Congo’s government has not fulfilled its promises. Thousands of families have fled their homes as the fighting has intensified.

Congolese authorities have accused neighboring Rwanda of supporting the rebels. Many of the M23 fighters are Congolese ethnic Tutsis and Rwanda’s president is of Rwandan Tutsi descent. The uptick in violence has sharply heightened tensions between the two countries whose relationship has been fraught for decades.

Rwanda alleges that Congo gave refuge to the ethnic Hutus who carried out the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed at least 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Over the years the two countries have accused each other of supporting various rival armed groups.

Rwanda and Uganda both deny claims that they support the M23. Rwanda’s military has accused neighboring Congolese forces of injuring several civilians in cross-border shelling.

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Associated Press writers Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda; Justin Kabumba in Goma, Congo; and Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal contributed.