M23 rebels clash with soldiers in eastern Congo, military says

GOMA, Congo – A military commander in eastern Congo says rebels attacked an army position north of Goma, a major provincial capital in the country's troubled east.

Lt. Col. Mamadou Ndala said Monday that the attackers were from the M23 movement, a Tutsi-led rebellion believed to be backed by neighboring Rwanda. Last November, the M23 succeeded in overrunning Goma. It took intense international pressure to halt their advance. M23 fighters have since then been stationed north of the city.

The M23 group says the army first attacked them Monday morning.

Fear that the rebels will try to retake Goma have been increasing ever since the United Nations created an intervention brigade with a mandate to attack the armed group. The M23 called it a "declaration of war."