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RCD-Goma claims recapture of mineral-rich Mwenga from Mayi-Mayi

Country Map - DRC (Kivu Region) IRIN
The mission visited several towns and villages in the Kayna health zone
    KINSHASA

    The Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) rebel movement on Friday claimed to have recaptured the mineral-rich town of Mwenga in South Kivu Province in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from a local Mayi-Mayi militia backed by Rwandan Hutu exiles.

    "The fighting resulted in 13 deaths on the side of the RCD and many deaths among the enemy," said the RCD-Goma spokesman, Jean-Pierre Lola Kisanga.

    According to Kisanga, Mwenga - a town surrounded by land rich in minerals such as coltan, tantalite and gold situated some 70 km southwest of Bukavu - had been under the control of the Mayi-Mayi/Hutu coalition ever since the official withdrawal of Rwandan government forces some two months ago.

    For their part, the Mayi-Mayi confirmed the fighting but denied that they had lost control of Mwenga. "Fighting is continuing, with Rwandans based in Bukavu heading southwest [towards Mwenga]," Jerimoth Lukonga, a Mayi-Mayi representative in the DRC capital, Kinshasa, told IRIN.

    An as-yet undetermined number of civilians have fled the fighting, and casualties remain unknown.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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