African News Agency : Welcome

Goma, DR Congo, 20 Nov - (ANA) - Frontline correspondents say they have seen what seems to be a column of rebel fighters entering central Goma, the main city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as UN peacekeepers deny claims M23 rebels are in control of the airport. Reports say small arms fire with the Congolese army were exchanged while while tens of thousands of people have fled recent fighting, which has led to fears of a resumption of the DR Congo war, in which some five million people died. This is the first time since the official end of the war in 2003 that rebels have entered Goma, which has a population of about 500,000. Neighbouring Rwanda has denied persistent accusations that it backs the rebels. On Monday, it accused the Congolese army of deliberately firing across the border onto its territory. The commander of United Nations peacekeepers in DR Congo, Lt-Gen Chandar Prakash, said the rebels had tried to attack his forces at the airport, but had been repelled. Some rebels had used the cover of civilian houses to bypass the UN base there and enter the town, he said. On Monday, Rwandan General Joseph Nzabamwita told the AFP news agency that DR Congo had used T55 tanks and mortar bombs to fire into its territory. Rwanda's army did not respond to the fire, he said. Various rebels groups have been active in mineral-rich eastern DR Congo since the end of the war in 2003. The latest conflict broke out after a mutiny in the army in April, when a group of former rebels formed the M23, also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army. The M23 is largely made up of ethnic Tutsis, the same group which dominates the government in Rwanda.(ANA)