GOMA, Congo — Angolan troops have joined Congolese soldiers battling rebels near the city of Goma, U.N. officials reported Friday, raising fears the conflict will spread as African leaders struggle to find a way to stop it.
New clashes between the army and rebels erupted just outside Goma near Kibati, where about 45,000 refugees from the rebellion in mineral-rich eastern Congo have taken refuge. Thousands fled toward the relative safety of Goma.
The French aid group Doctors Without Borders reported fighting in the towns of Rutshuru and Kiwanja, where the charity tried to send staff, who had to turn back. The aid group said the Rutshuru hospital was full of displaced civilians, and its staff had treated 43 wounded there during the past two days.
Congo asked Angola for political and military support Oct. 29 as rebels led by Gen. Laurent Nkunda, an ethnic Tutsi, advanced toward Goma, capital of North Kivu province near the border with Rwanda. A U.N. official and a Uruguayan peacekeeping officer said Friday that an unspecified number of Angolan troops arrived four days ago.
But in New York, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Edmond Mulet denied Angolan troops had joined the fighting.
The Associated Press
