UN troops rush to strife-torn Congo towns
The UN base in Goma, eastern Congo, went on full alert at 9am after reports of heavy fighting.
One official said neighbouring Rwanda had "almost certainly" deployed troops in Congo over the past three weeks.
The recent fighting was in the jungle towns of Kanyabayonga and Walikale, where troops faced insurgents from the ANC - the supposedly disbanded military wing of the largest rebel group, originally sponsored by Rwanda.
The UN has received reports of Rwandan troops fighting in these clashes and of Rwandan military helicopters dropping ammunition to the rebels.
The UN said they would enforce a buffer zone between Kanyabayonga, thought to be in rebel hands, and the nearby town of Lubero, where government forces are located.
"The helicopters are in the air and they have orders to shoot at any of the insurgents that move towards Lubero," said a UN official.
But the UN's mission in Congo has been criticised for failing to restore order. It has only 11,000 troops deployed across a country twice the size of Britain, France and Germany combined. The latest fighting in eastern Congo has forced about 200,000 people to flee their homes. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
- David Blair in Goma
