BUKAVU, DR Congo — Forty Burundian rebels
have been killed in a joint offensive by the militaries of
Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi in eastern DRC, a Congolese army spokesman said on Sunday.
اضافة اعلان
The two armies “carried out a high-intensity
offensive operation” against Burundian rebels of the National Liberation Forces
(FNL), Lt. Marc Elongo-Kyondwa said in a statement.
The enemy “suffered a heavy loss of men and
equipment; 40 attackers neutralized (killed),” he said.
The two armies “dislodged” the FNL “from all the
four hills overlooking the town of Nabombi,” considered a command post of the
FNL’s self-proclaimed general Aloys Nzabampema, he added.
The Congolese army called on local people to
cooperate with the regular forces and “young people to dissociate themselves
from armed groups”, the statement quoted Congolese Maj. Gen. Ramazani Fundi, commander
of operations in the southern part of the province, as saying.
The FNL is a branch of Agathon Rwasa’s former rebel
group, now the main political opposition in Burundi.
Since August, Burundian soldiers charged with
fighting armed groups have been officially present in DRC’s South Kivu region,
as part of the Community of East African States (EAC) force.
In June, the EAC decided to set up a regional force,
comprising the Kenyan and Ugandan armies alongside Congolese soldiers in North
Kivu and Ituri, the South Sudanese army in Haut-Uele and Burundians in South
Kivu.
Kinshasa, which accuses Rwanda of actively
supporting M23 rebels in
North Kivu, has refused to allow Kigali to take part
in the force.
For nearly 30 years, the east of the DRC has been plagued
by violent armed groups, some local, others made up of militiamen from
neighboring countries.
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