Rwanda Accuses DRC of Firing Across Border

The government of Rwanda has accused
Democratic Republic of Congo forces of
shelling Rwandan territory.
Rwanda said Thursday that more than
30 bombs and rockets have been fired
across the border in the last week by the
DRC military. It said one bomb fired
Thursday morning killed a woman and
seriously injured her two-month-old
baby in the town of Rubavu.
In a statement, it accused Congo of
trying to draw Rwanda into the conflict
between the DRC army and M23 rebels
in the city of Goma, which sits on the
Congolese-Rwandan border.
Congo and a group of United Nations
experts have accused Rwanda of
supporting M23, an allegation Rwanda
denies.
The U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo,
MONUSCO, said there was new fighting
Thursday between DRC forces and M23
in Kibati, north of Goma.
U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said the
U.N. force is supporting the DRC army in
what he called an operation to end
M23's shelling of populated areas.
"The U.N. force continues to support this
operations including with the use of
artillery and attack helicopters."
On Wednesday, a U.N. peacekeeper from
Tanzania was killed in clashes with
M23.
Haq said members of the U.N. Security
Council held discussions on the DRC
Thursday.
The United Nations, which has a large
peacekeeping operation in Congo,
recently deployed a 3,000-member
"Intervention Brigade" to fight rebel
groups in the east and help stabilize the
volatile region.
M23 briefly took control of Goma last
year and still controls parts of North
Kivu province.
The group is made up of former rebels
who were integrated into the Congolese
army in a 2009 peace agreement, but
later deserted after complaining of
discrimination and poor treatment.

U.N peacekeeper patrols