18 07 13 Associated Press: Congo's army continues slow advance

An
intelligence officer said front-line units had moved forward 300 meters (328 yards) by
mid-afternoon after two hours of shelling on both sides. Congolese army
lieutenant Kandu Matata Elie said M23 started the fighting on Wednesday with a
salvo of mortar bombs at midday.

The
rebels appeared to be targeting three tanks in the village of Kanyaruchinya
and two shells landed close by, but after a brief panic among the government
troops, they responded with sustained tank and artillery fire. After about an
hour of artillery fire government troops followed the tanks forward.

The
M23 rebels, who seized Goma last November but eventually withdrew, now seem to
be heavily outgunned by the army, which pounded their positions with
helicopters, tanks and artillery.

A
report by the United Nations panel of experts studying Congo, made public in June, alleges that Rwandan
soldiers have joined the M23 in recent months, a claim that Rwanda
adamantly denies.

North Kivu, a highly fertile and densely populated region
rich in minerals, has since 1996 been wracked by repeated rebellions. Most of
the M23 leaders, who launched their rebellion last year and now have about 2,000 in their group, took
part in previous rebellions led by ethnic Tutsis.

Peace
talks between the Congolese government and the M23 stalled again last week as
the head of the M23 delegation, Rene Abandi, complained that the head of the
government delegation had left the talks.

The
Congolese army's recent successes against rebels have prompted euphoric scenes
in Goma with civilians waving leafy branches staging victory runs on the
outskirts of town. On Tuesday the government said 120 rebels had been killed in
the fighting since Sunday, a claim that could not be independently verified.

Fouraha
Kanamu, a 40-year-old woman who has had to flee the recent fighting told The
Associated Press she would be very happy to see her village liberated from the
rebels and she was hopeful the army could do it.

Jules
Akili, who traveled 32
kilometers (20 miles) through the M23 zone on Wednesday and
crossed to the government side told AP he had seen few M23 fighters along the
route, which had been guarded by rebel police.

The
United Nations mission in Congo (MONUSCO) said Wednesday it had not been
targeted by M23 during the past four days of fighting and had not taken part in
the fighting.

The South African National Defense Force
(SANDF) which has a battalion deployed with MONUSCO issued a statement late
Tuesday denying its troops had been fighting M23 and stating that the Congolese
army's attacks on the had been " premeditated", a comment that runs
counter to the government line that its army has been responding to attacks.