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| M23 rebels attack DR Congo army as UN force deploys | M23 rebels attack DR Congo army as UN force deploys |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Heavy fighting has taken place between government and rebel forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. | Heavy fighting has taken place between government and rebel forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. |
| This was the first clash between the two sides since the UN began deploying an attack force to the area last week. | This was the first clash between the two sides since the UN began deploying an attack force to the area last week. |
| Meanwhile, Rwandan President Paul Kagame told the BBC that UN troops had "in some cases" made the situation in DR Congo worse. | |
| The UN has nearly 20,000 peacekeepers in eastern DR Congo, where armed groups have wreaked havoc for two decades. | The UN has nearly 20,000 peacekeepers in eastern DR Congo, where armed groups have wreaked havoc for two decades. |
| DR Congo army spokesman Olivier Hamuli said M23 rebels attacked government troops about 12 km (7 miles) north of the regional capital, Goma, in an attempt to prevent the deployment of the UN brigade. | |
| 'Chaos' | 'Chaos' |
| The army pushed back the rebels after two hours of heavy fighting, but sporadic clashes were continuing, he said. | |
| The M23 accused government troops of attacking them first. | The M23 accused government troops of attacking them first. |
| It repelled the attack, and captured key positions overlooking Goma, said M23 spokesman Viannay Kazarama. | |
| Some 800,000 people have fled fighting since the M23 launched its rebellion last year. | |
| This led the UN to deploy a new 3,000-strong intervention brigade to eastern DR Congo to neutralise and disarm the rebels. | This led the UN to deploy a new 3,000-strong intervention brigade to eastern DR Congo to neutralise and disarm the rebels. |
| The first contingent of the force arrived last week. | The first contingent of the force arrived last week. |
| UN officials say the force, made up of troops from southern African states, had the most robust mandate ever given to a UN mission to end instability caused by rebel groups. | |
| The BBC's Maud Jullien in the capital, Kinshasa, says the M23 has been hit by a wave of defections since the UN Security Council adopted a resolution in March to send the force. | |
| A defector told our correspondent earlier this month that the M23 had drawn up plans to disrupt the deployment by cutting off one of the main roads to Goma, which the rebels seized last year before pulling out under intense diplomatic pressure. | |
| In an interview with the BBC, Rwanda's leader said any military effort to bring peace to DR Congo needed to be "properly co-ordinated" with political efforts. | |
| He dismissed long-standing UN allegations that Rwanda backed the M23. | He dismissed long-standing UN allegations that Rwanda backed the M23. |
| Asked how he viewed the record of the UN force, Mr Kagame said: "If you see what we had last year, the resurgence of the fighting and chaos and displacement of people and so on and so forth... what we witnessed last year - actually the situation got worse." | Asked how he viewed the record of the UN force, Mr Kagame said: "If you see what we had last year, the resurgence of the fighting and chaos and displacement of people and so on and so forth... what we witnessed last year - actually the situation got worse." |
| Rwanda was accused of backing armed groups in DR Congo as a way to fight Hutu rebels who fled there after the 1994 Rwandan genocide. | |
| Mr Kagame came to power as the head of a Tutsi rebel force, which ousted the genocidal Hutu leadership. |