Sharjah24 – AFP: Thousands of people living near DR Congo's eastern border with Uganda fled their homes on Monday after suspected insurgents attacked army positions, officials said.
The attacks began at around 2000 GMT on Sunday with gunfire continuing into the night, sending desperate residents of Rutshuru territory in troubled North Kivu province fleeing over the border into Uganda.
The Congolese military pinned the blame for the attacks on an insurgent group called M23, one of more than 120 armed groups who roam the area, a legacy of regional wars that shook the area more than two decades ago.
The M23, a Congolese Tutsi group largely defeated after launching a rebellion almost a decade ago, denied any involvement.
The attacks took place near Bunagana, a key border post and transit point for goods headed to regional capital Goma some 80 kilometres (50 miles) west.
The assailants overran the position of a paramilitary guard, stationed in the area to protect the Virunga National Park, a renowned conservation site.
Local officials and the Red Cross in the Kisoro region of Uganda said roughly 5,000 people had poured across the border and the area was "overwhelmed".
The escapees included older people, women and children, and they had no access to basic amenities like water or shelter, according to local official Rukundo Manasseh.
The arrivals were being taken to a transit centre in Nyakabande, said Kisoro Red Cross chief Primrose Natukunda.
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