Rebels claim capture of DR Congo border town

The M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo claim to have captured the border town of Bunagana near Uganda, according to their spokesman..

“We control the whole of the town now,” Willy Ngoma, the M23 spokesman told BBC Great Lakes.

The claim follows heavy fighting between the army and rebels that on Monday saw some government soldiers cross over to Uganda, the UN-backed Radio Okapi reports citing sources.

The DR Congo authorities have not yet commented on M23’s claim.

Army spokesperson Lt Col Guillaume Ndjike Kaiko said he would comment on this “later”, but a statement on Sunday night had said they repelled an attack by the rebels in Bunagana.

The UN says that more than 30,000 people have been displaced by the latest fighting.

Bunagana town is strategic in cross-border trade and is located some 70km (43 miles) north-east of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

The town served as M23’s base when they captured Goma in November 2012 before they lost the war and fled to Uganda.

Source: BBC