DRC government forces have carried out a joint offensive together with the United Nations Forces on the bases of Burundian rebels in Ruhoha in South Kivu province. Colonel Félix Basse, the spokesperson of the UN forces says the operation started at 6:30am on Monday morning.
He says they managed to defeat the Burundian rebels allied to the Front national deliberation-FNL from at least five bases. He says that most of the rebels had pitched Camp in Uvira Plateau, in South Kivu Province.
According to Colonel Félix Basse, their forces first raided the Rebel headquarters in Ruhoha before continuing with the offensive aimed at neutralizing the rebels. The offensive comes barely few days after the rebels Killed 5 Burundian soldiers in an attack on Burundian Territory.
According to the Burundian government, the rebels engaged government forces for five days north of the Burundian Capital Bujumbura with the intentions of taking leadership.
The raid on the Burundian rebel bases coincides with the expiry of the deadline issued by the UN to Rwandan rebels under Democratic forces for the liberation of Rwandan to surrender or face military action. Despite being given a period of 6 months to surrender, most of the rebels refused to give up rebellion saying it is a ploy to hand them over to the Kigali government.
FDLR is dominated by ethnic Hutus who fled the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
redpepper.com
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