United Nations troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo went into action today to battle M23 rebels accused by France of war crimes after clashes near the flashpoint city of Goma that left at least four dead.
The shells hit the outskirts of the eastern city yesterday, killing a woman and a child, and a rocket struck the nearby village of Kanyaruchinya, killing two and injuring nine others, according to the UN.
The civilians were victims of fighting that has erupted sporadically since mid-July between M23 and the regular army in a region 20 kilometres north of Goma, a city of one million people, ending a truce of about two months.
France "condemned" the surge in fighting and "in particular attacks perpetrated by the M23 against civilians and the United Nations mission in the country (MONUSCO) which constitute war crimes", said foreign ministry spokesman Vincent Floreani, urging UN troops to use "all disposable means" to defend the local people.
UN military spokesman Prosper Basse told UN-sponsored Radio Okapi that MONUSCO troops were "henceforth engaged alongside the FARDC (regular army)" to deal with the threat.
It marks the first time the UN brigade has fought alongside the army.
MONUSCO had already declared a protection zone with a perimeter of 30 kilometres around Goma and the nearby strategic town of Sake three months ago "to prevent this sort of atrocity by M23 against civilian populations", spokesman Basse said.
The Kinshasa government has accused Rwanda of firing the rockets on Goma yesterday, to help the M23, whom Kigali is suspected by some of supporting.
"The DR Congo government is awaiting an explanation from its neighbour over these serious events," said spokesman Lambert Mende.
In a tit for tat exchange, Kigali accused the Congolese army of launching a rocket on Rwanda while the DR Congo said that M23 rebels had done it to implicate the government, and provoke conflict with Rwanda.
M23 meanwhile issued a statement laying the blame on the regular army and an ethnic Hutu rebel movement based in the region, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
They had dropped "several bombs on Rubavu district in... Rwanda and central Goma to get Rwanda and MONUSCO involved in the war" said the M23.
