NEWSFLASH - Mbote troops open fire on Bana Soto forces (Reuters)

 

MDF reinforcements assemble in the Takuma bridgehead

From our defence correspondent in Takuma

 

Early this morning units of the Mbote Defence Force opened fire on advancing elements of the Army of Bana Soto in the vicinity of the Takuma bridge. The ABS occupied a strip of territory on the Mbote side of the river yesterday to create a bridgehead for a possible invasion of the border zone. In response, local militia units of the Peoples Volunteer Army and the Border Guards withdrew to the heights above the Wajuba river, awaiting reinforcements by regular units of the MDF.

 

It would now appear from unverified eyewitness reports, that the imminent arrival of these regular troops has bolstered the firepower of the local forces, enabling them to deter the advancing ABS with a range of AAA fire and small arms. In turn, advance units of the ABS have exchanged fire with the PVA and MDF in an apparent attempt to disodge the defenders from their forward positions. A further escalation of the conflict seems inevitable.