KIRUMBA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Congolese government forces ousted rebels from hills in heavy fighting in North Kivu province on Friday, an army spokesman said, cranking up a campaign to crush an insurgency at the heart of two decades of conflict.
The rebel ranks contain remnants of fighters involved in neighbouring Rwanda's genocide in 1994. Since moving into chaotic eastern Congo, they have sought to exploit the region's rich deposits of gold, diamonds and tin and waged periodic war with the Kinshasa government and other armed groups.