Second Place
James Oatway
The Sunday Times (South Africa)
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"DRC: Three Antenna Hill"
In August the Congolese army scored a critical victory against the M23 rebels. With help from the UN, the rebels were routed from a heavily fortified position called "Three Antenna Hill.”
August 28, 2013. Angry youths took to the streets after a rocket struck a residential home in the city of Goma, killing two civilians. Several rockets and mortars landed in Goma and in the Rwandan territory of Gisenyi raising tensions between DRC and Rwanda and sparking fears of a regional war. At the end of August fighting between Congolese armed forces (FARDC) and rebel group M23 was at it's heaviest as FARDC (supported by the United Nations Force Intervention Brigade - FIB) succeeded in dislodging M23 from it's strongly protected positions on "Three Antenna Hill." This defeat was the beginning of the end for M23. They were forced to retreat and were not able to regroup well enough to launch a serious counter-offensive. They announced their surrender in November after further military pressure from FARDC and the UNFIB. Battle of Three Antennas. Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
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