Rwanda Under Attack As M23 Seize Town The rebel M23 Movement has in a Saturday pre-dawn retaliatory offensive seized the strategic town of Kanyamahoro which had been captured by DRC forces (FARDC) in a surprise attack as deadly skirmishes continue to rock the restive Eastern region of DRC. Rwanda says it is ready to launch a surgical strike inside the Democratic Republic of Congo if there is a new cross-border shelling, raising the prospect of another war in the Great Lakes region of Africa. M23 political leader, Bertrand Bisiimwa, said following the defeat of the FARDC in a deadly gun battle that raged for over four hours, the rebels went further to “dominate the surrounding areas. At around 3:00am today, DRC forces and their allies decided to respond by launching a ground assault using tanks and heavy artillery bombardments in Kilimanyoka, Kibaya, a few kilometers from Goma. The UN and Kinshasa have repeatedly accused Rwanda of helping the rebels in Congo. Rwanda has always denied the charges that it is backing the M23, but Kigali has never publicly condemned the militia, which is strengthening its grip over the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu in the eastern Congo.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 05:35:46 +0000