Goma - Hutu forces and allies entered the fray of the Tutsiled rebellion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo yesterday, attacking the eastern border town of Goma that serves as rebel headquarters, the rebels said.
The attack suggests that the Hutu-Tutsi conflict that has poisoned Rwanda as well as adjacent Burundi is now entrenched in neighbouring Congo, where the President, Mr Laurent Kabila, came to power in May 1997.
Rebels in Goma said a joint assault by extremist Hutu Interahamwe militia, Hutu former Rwandan army troops and ethnic Mai Mai warriors led to five hours of heavy fighting.
"The enemy - ex-FAR [Rwandan army], Interahamwe and Mai Mai - attacked Goma airport and a radio transmitter, but we have totally destroyed our enemies," the rebel military leader, Mr Jean-Pierre Ondekane, said in a radio broadcast.
Peace talks in Addis Ababa broke up on Saturday without agreement on an expected ceasefire.