Congolese army prepares for offensive in east

The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo are planning a new offensive against rebels who are entrenched in the mountainous jungle in the east of the country. On Saturday, thousands of Congolese troops readied for an offensive against mutineers, who are led by General Jean Bosco Ntaganda, AFP reported. "I came to inspect the troops and do some reorganization," General Vainqueur Mayala said. "And to plan an attack within four days to kick out the mutineers." General Mayala’s troops are deploying on the hillsides of Virunga National Park, which is home to most of the hundreds of former members of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), which rebelled against Kinshasa in April in protest over mistreatment in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC). The CNDP was a rebel militia group that split from the FARDC. In 2009, a peace treaty was signed by the rebels and the Congolese government, which integrated the CNDP into the FARDC. More than 10,000 people have fled to Rwanda and Uganda since early May. Congo has faced numerous problems over the past few decades, such as grinding poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and a war in the east of the country that has dragged on for over a decade and left over 5.5 million people dead.