GOMA, DR Congo
Forty Burundian rebels have been killed in a joint offensive by the militaries of Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi in eastern DRC, a Congolese army spokesman said on Sunday.
The two armies "carried
out a high-intensity offensive operation" against Burundian rebels of the
National Liberation Forces (FNL), Lieutenant Marc Elongo-Kyondwa said in a
statement.
The enemy "suffered a
heavy loss of men and equipment: 40 attackers neutralised (killed)," he
said.
The two armies
"dislodged" the FNL "from all the four hills overlooking the
town of Nabombi," considered a command post of the FNL's self-proclaimed
general Aloys Nzabampema, he added.
The Congolese army called on
local people to cooperate with the regular forces and "young people to
dissociate themselves from armed groups", the statement quoted Congolese
General Major Ramazani Fundi, commander of operations in the southern part of
the province, as saying.
The FNL is a branch of Agathon
Rwasa's former rebel group, now the main political opposition in Burundi.
Since August, Burundian
soldiers charged with fighting armed groups have been officially present in
DRC's South Kivu region, as part of the Community of East African States (EAC)
force.
In June, the EAC decided to
set up a regional force, comprising the Kenyan and Ugandan armies alongside
Congolese soldiers in North Kivu and Ituri, the South Sudanese army in
Haut-Uele and Burundians in South Kivu.
Kinshasa, which accuses Rwanda
of actively supporting M23 rebels in North Kivu, has refused to allow Kigali to
take part in the force.
For nearly 30 years, the east
of the DRC has been plagued by violent armed groups, some local, others made up
of militiamen from neighbouring countries. - AFP
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