Congolese soldiers and rebel forces suffered heavy casualties today as they fought for a fifth day near the city of Goma in the country's volatile east, a doctor near the front line said.
Isaac Warwanamisa told The Associated Press he had seen 82 dead since early today, 23 of whom were government soldiers, the highest death toll reported since hostilities broke out last week.
Medical services were struggling to cope with the scale of the casualties among government troops and the M23 fighters who launched their rebellion last year, Warwanamiza said. "I'm overwhelmed by what I've seen: bodies blown apart, arms and feet here and there," he said, speaking by phone from a hospital north of Goma.
Three UN peacekeepers were wounded yesterday in the fighting, though no injuries were immediately reported by the UN peacekeeping mission today.
A UN official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to journalists, said that two M23 "colonels" had been killed since Wednesday, while the Congolese military had not lost any senior officers.
The front line is only 15 kilometers north of Goma. M23 rebels briefly overtook the city late last year, and Congolese and UN troops have been battling to dislodge rebels from heights overlooking the city since Wednesday.
Observers estimate that Congolese forces have advanced less than a mile (about 2 kilometers) since Wednesday and have yet to achieve their immediate objective cutting off M23 from a border crossing where the rebel group is believed to get supplies from neighboring Rwanda.
An army chaplain at the military hospital in Goma confirmed that Congolese troops had suffered heavy casualties Sunday. Chaplain Lea Masika said 59 wounded had been brought into the hospital since today morning, bringing the total of wounded there to 720. The bodies of three Congolese officers had been buried, he said.
The M23 is made up of hundreds of Congolese soldiers mostly from the Tutsi ethnic group who deserted the national army last year after accusing the government of failing to honor the terms of a deal signed in March 2009. Many of the movement's commanders are veterans of previous rebellions backed by Rwanda, which vigorously denies allegations that it has been supporting and reinforcing M23.
The rebels briefly seized Goma, a city of nearly 1 million people, last November, before withdrawing under international pressure and in return for a promise of peace talks with the government.
The talks in neighboring Uganda have frequently stalled and appear to have made little progress since March.
