24 07 13 AFP: Congolese helicopters blast rebel positions

"Our helicopters
have just bombarded enemy positions," a Congolese officer told AFP on the
frontlines after AFP journalists witnessed the attack.

"Until now the enemy
has not yet responded," he added.

These were the first
attacks since fighting on Monday, which began in the morning and ended in the
afternoon.

The M23 movement said
Monday it was only four kilometres (2.5 miles) from Goma, although it stressed its
aim was to force the government to negotiate rather than to take the city.

The M23 occupied Goma,
the capital of North Kivu province, for 10 days in November before withdrawing
from the city under international pressure and in return for a dialogue with Kinshasa.

The troubled dialogue
began in the Ugandan capital Kampala
in December.

But after a truce of
around two months, the army and the M23 resumed fighting on July 14. According
to the United Nations, the fighting has caused 4,200 people to flee their
homes.

The M23 has been active
since May 2012 in
the mineral-rich province
of North Kivu. It is
mainly composed of Congolese Tutsi who were integrated into the army following
a 2000 peace accord. They mutinied in April 2012 saying the accord was never
fully respected.

Kinshasa and the United Nations have accused
Rwanda and Uganda of
supporting the M23, which have drawn denials from the RDC's two neighboring
countries.