UN Boss Jets to Congo Amid New Fighting

Fears of a wider conflict grow as rebel leader threatens to take Goma
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 5, 2008 4:32 AM CST
UN Boss Jets to Congo Amid New Fighting
Displaced Congolese people struggle to cope with the extreme weather of a rain storm in the Kibati camp north of Goma, eastern Congo, yesterday.   (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

UN chief Ban Ki-Moon is traveling to the Democratic Republic of Congo to press for a peace deal just as new fighting breaks out, the Guardian reports. The Congolese government has rejected peace talks with the rebels, who have vowed to attack the provincial capital of Goma and continue a march across the nation. New fighting erupted between rebels led by Laurent Nkunda and Hutu militias, despite a week-old ceasefire.

"If they won't negotiate with us, then they leave us little choice," said a rebel spokesman. The warring parties have traded accusations that foreign forces are mobilizing to enter the conflict, the AP reports. The rebels say that Angola and Zimbabwe are ready to fight for the Congolese government, while the government has charged that Rwanda is backing the rebels.
(More United Nations stories.)

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