Congo army says retakes eastern town from rebels
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By Joe Bavier
MUSHAKE, Congo, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's army retook a strategic town on Wednesday in a rare victory over rebels loyal to renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda in the violence-torn eastern province of North Kivu.
Government forces bombarded rebel positions around Mushake, about 40 km (25 miles) west of the provincial capital Goma, with attack helicopters, rockets and artillery for three days before ground troops moved in to capture the town in the afternoon.
"It's a great victory. Mushake was a major base of operations for Nkunda," said Colonel John Tchibangu, operations commander for the army's 14th brigade, which occupied the town.
"We will hunt down (Nkunda's men) to their last stronghold. We've received the order to give them everything we have."
Hundreds of government soldiers aided by local civilians carried supplies and ammunition up the steep slopes surrounding the town to bases previously occupied by Nkunda loyalists.
Rocket batteries and anti-aircraft guns mounted on pickup trucks blasted suspected rebel positions in nearby hilltops.
"We're happy to do this," Innocent Cibo, from nearby Karuba village, told Reuters during a break from carrying supplies.
"Nkunda wouldn't allow us to come here. I have fields here I couldn't tend. I had family here I couldn't see. Some are now in (refugee camps). Some have disappeared."
The fighting raged as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and regional leaders reiterated their commitment to peace in an area where violence has dragged on since a 1998-2003 war.
More than 400,000 people have fled fighting in North Kivu between government soldiers, Nkunda's insurgents, Rwandan Hutu rebels, and local Mai Mai militia over the past year.
The army launched an offensive against Nkunda on Monday, overrunning rebel-held areas outside the town of Sake, 20 km (12 miles) west of Goma, before pushing on towards Mushake.
Nkunda first led 4,000 soldiers into the bush in 2004, demanding security guarantees for east Congo's Tutsi minority.
After Kabila won landmark elections last year, Nkunda's men joined special mixed army brigades in early 2007 but quit in late August, ditching a Rwandan-brokered peace deal.
Analysts question whether Congo's often ill-disciplined army can really deal a knock-out blow to Nkunda.
"A military victory is not a matter of taking a couple of towns. This is guerrilla warfare -- it's a matter of inflicting sustained damage. We haven't seen anything like that," said Jason Stearns, an independent Congo analyst based in Nairobi. (Editing by Nick Tattersall and Pascal Fletcher)
