200811272306 | DRC - Nkunda's rebels capture new town

DRC - Nkunda's rebels capture new town

Kinshasa - Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have captured a new town in an area where they had clashed with pro-government rebels, the UN mission in the country said on Friday. There is a small CNDP presence in Ishasha," Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Paul Dietrich, spokesperson for the UN peacekeepers, said referring to members of the National Congress for the Defence of the People rebel group.

"A MONUC patrol is in the process of travelling to the location," he said, using the acronym for the UN mission.

The moves came as UN special envoy Olusegun Obasanjo was set to meet this weekend with Congolese President Joseph Kabila and rebel chief Laurent Nkunda in a new peace bid.

The town is located along the Ugandan border, about 130km northeast of Goma, the capital of Congo's Nord-Kivu province, where the conflict between rebels led by ex-general Nkunda and government forces is centred.

The rebels said on Thursday they had taken control of the town.

In taking Ishasha, the rebels have now advanced more than 3okm north in less than 24 hours.

About 13 000 people have fled across the border to Uganda over the last two days to flee fighting in the area, the UN's refugee agency said.

The rebels now control two Nord-Kivu border post towns on the Ugandan frontier. The towns are significant sources of revenue for provincial authorities because of customs duties.

The other town under their control is Bunagana, about 60km northeast of Goma.

Tensions between Kinshasa and Nkunda boiled over in August, propelling more than 250 000 people towards refugee camps or into hiding in the bush, beyond the reach of aid agencies