Deadly clash in DRC's Goma

BATTLEGROUND: EASTERN CITY NOW EPICENTRE OF WAR BETWEEN ARMY AND M23 MILITIA

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The SA military said yesterday four more of its soldiers were killed after nine were confirmed dead last week in clashes with the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group.

Gunshots rang out through parts of the besieged DR Congo (DRC) city of Goma yesterday, as Congolese soldiers clashed with militia fighters backed by Rwandan troops, ahead of a UN Security Council meeting.

The main city in eastern DRC has become a battleground since fighters from the Tutsi-led M23 armed group and Rwandan forces entered on Sunday night after a weeks-long advance through the region.

The lightning offensive marks a major escalation in the vast central African country's mineral-rich east, which has been plagued by fighting between armed groups backed by regional rivals since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

It has also triggered a spiralling humanitarian crisis, forcing half a million people from their homes since the start of the year, the UN refugee agency said.