Over 30 killed as Uvira, Goma bombed

The rebel-held towns of Goma and Uvira came under air attack by the allied forces on Tuesday night, with at least 30 people reported killed in Goma, humanitarian sources told IRIN on Wednesday. A further 50 people were wounded, 15 seriously, as five to eight bombs were dropped on the town apparently by two aircraft, a jet and an Antonov 28. A search is currently underway in the affected areas, and the death toll is expected to rise. Some sources said the intended target was probably the airport, but a Goma resident told IRIN this was unlikely as the airport was so well-lit "it could not have been missed". The resident felt the entire town was being targeted, adding that one bomb fell into Lake Kivu and another on the town centre. He said the situation was now "relatively calm". Observers say the incident was probably a one-off, as was the case when Kisangani was bombed several months ago. The planes then went on to bomb Uvira further south. Sources in nearby Bujumbura, who are in touch with the town, told IRIN two people are so far reported dead and one wounded from the raid. Humanitarian sources on the ground said two out of three bombs, which were dropped on the town, exploded. The area was apparently a suburb with a large number of Banyamulenge residents and where Rwandan soldiers had their headquarters. People have been fleeing Uvira into Bujumbura, the sources added. "Desperate act", rebels says The rebel authorities in both areas have strongly condemned the raids. The foreign minister of the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD), Alexis Tambwe Mwamba, told the Rwanda News Agency the bombing was probably in retaliation for the rebels' seizure of Manono, President Laurent-Desire Kabila's hometown in Katanga province, on Monday. He said the RCD's anti-aircraft artillery was confused by the simultaneous landing of their own plane from Kisangani. "Otherwise we could have downed Kabila's Antonov because Goma is a well-defended town," he added. Mwamba said the situation in Goma had now returned to normal and an urgent meeting would be held to assess the situation. RCD military commander General Celestin Ilunga described the raids as "a desperate act of somebody who is losing the war".