DR Congo fighting leaves 19 dead ahead of UN chief visit

Congo, May 22: A fresh bout of fighting between army and rebel forces in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has left 19 dead, the government said on Tuesday, on the eve of a visit by UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

Mortar fire rang out for a second day north of the regional hub Goma after the first clashes in six months between the M23 rebellion that briefly seized the city in November and government troops broke out on Monday.

Government spokesman Lambert Mende told journalists that Monday's fighting had left 15 rebels dead and 21 injured, while four soldiers were killed and six injured.

M23 military spokesman Vianney Kazarama rejected the figures provided by Kinshasa however and said only two loyalist troops were wounded and two rebels wounded.

During his visit, Ban will be accompanied by the World Bank president Jim Yong Kim, UN peacekeeping force chief Herve Ladsous and Mary Robinson who is the UN special envoy for Africa's Great Lakes region.

The visit comes after an UN-brokered accord was signed by 11 African heads of state on February 24 who vowed not to interfere in the affairs of their neighbours.