THE DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo's (DRC) troubled northeastern region is spiralling back into all-out war amid fresh clashes between government and rebel forces, alongside attacks by Uganda's cult-like Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
Yesterday the DRC's envoy to the United Nations warned that Rwandan soldiers had crossed the border in preparation for an attack on the city of Goma.
Atok Ileka said: "We have asked the security council to put the necessary pressure on Rwanda to prevent a new aggression against DRC." The claims are denied by Rwanda, but raise the spectre of a fresh regional conflict sucking in neighbouring countries.
Rwanda twice invaded during the 1990s in pursuit of Hutu rebels, whom it accused the DRC government of backing. Goma is the capital of North Kivu in the DRC, which has seen renewed clashes since August. Forces loyal to Laurent Nkunda, a renegade Tutsi commander, have claimed a series of victories over government forces. On Wednesday his forces said they had taken an army camp about 50 miles north of Goma.
Rwanda sees Mr Nkunda as an ally in defeating Hutu militias accused of the 1994 genocide of Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda before fleeing into the DRC jungle. But it was not supposed to be like this five years after the end of Congo's bloody civil war and two years since the vast former Belgian colony held successful democratic elections.
President Joseph Kabila had been hoping to finally pacify the east and attract more investment to develop Congo's huge reserves of copper, cobalt, gold and diamonds to provide a lucrative peace dividend. However, Congo's ill-disciplined and poorly-paid army has proved unable to halt the Nkunda faction's attacks.
The conflict is further complicated by the presence of the LRA, a shadowy Ugandan rebel group which wages its war from bases in the northeastern corner of the DRC. Last month, the aid agency Caritas said some 75,000 people had fled their homes as fighters launched a fresh string of attacks.
A United Nations peacekeeping force of 17,000 has struggled to impose any order on the region. A UN spokesman said it was imperative to get all sides to go back to a peace deal signed in January.
"We are aware of collusion allegations from both sides and that's why we insist on bringing the parties back to the table to repair trust and restore confidence in the peace process," he said.
