17 07 13 AFP: DR Congo says Rwanda forces back rebels

The letter sent by the DR Congo's UN ambassador
to the UN Security Council said that "specialized units coming from Rwanda" were supporting M23 rebels battling
government forces outside the key city of Goma.

The letter was part of renewed tensions between
the neighbors. Rwanda
on Monday accused DR Congo and UN forces of shelling two Rwandan border villages.

The M23 rebels launched a new assault outside
the North Kivu provincial capital on Sunday
and new battles were reported Tuesday.

The DR Congo government says at least 130
people, including 10 soldiers, have been killed in the fighting.

The DR Congo ambassador, Ignace Gatamavita,
said there had been "bloody battles" started by the M23 with the
Rwandan units against the DR Congo army, the FARDC.

"The M23 rebels and their Rwandan allies
attacked, in the early hours of Sunday morning, the positions of the FARDC who
had to defend themselves to push back the enemy."

Gatamavita said "this act of
provocation" was a breach of a peace and security accord signed by several
African countries, including Rwanda,
in February.

The accord, under which leaders vowed not to
intervene in the affairs of their neighbors, was aimed at ending conflict in
eastern DR Congo.

The M23, which UN experts have said receive
backing from Rwanda and Uganda,
launched an uprising against the DR Congo government last year.

Rwandan diplomats made no immediate comment on
the letter.