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Fighting in Kisangani

    NAIROBI

    Fighting between Ugandan troops and Rwandan-backed rebels broke out in the town of Kisangani on Friday morning. Both sides confirmed the fighting to IRIN.

    “Ugandan troops, using BM21 artillery and other heavy weapons, started shelling our positions this morning,” Bizima Karaha, the chief of intelligence and security of the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) told IRIN. “They shelled the town centre and the suburbs, and the population is in danger.” He said fighting broke out as discussions were underway with senior Ugandan officials on the situation in Kisangani “who had assured us that nothing was going to happen”.

    A senior Ugandan intelligence officer acknowledged there had been some fighting. “There was some exchange of fire at 0400 in the morning,” he told IRIN. “They ambushed our troops at Banalia bridge and we have ordered our troops to withdraw from Sim-Sim airport [in Kisangani], the orders are that we should not fire back.”

    Tension has been steadily mounting in Kisangani. Fighting in the town last year between Rwandan and Ugandan troops left hundreds of people dead.

    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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