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| Africa Subsaharan |
| 32 Rebels, Five Soldiers Killed in Northeast Congo |
| 2006-05-22 |
| Government troops have killed 32 rebels in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in an ongoing 'Operation Ituri Explorer' mission ahead of general elections on 30 July, army spokesman Capt Olivier Mputu said on Monday. Five government soldiers were killed and 11 wounded, he added. Close to 2,000 government troops, backed by 500 United Nations peacekeepers, launched the latest operation in Ituri District two weeks ago. The fighting has taken place in the community of Walendu Bindi, between Bunia, the district capital, and Lake Albert, on the border with Uganda. The army is trying to re-establish state authority in the area near the lake so that residents can vote in the upcoming presidential and legislative elections. The operation aims to disarm the alliance of the Front de Resistance Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI), and the Mouvement revolutionnaire congolais, which is comprised of fighters from various armed militia groups that have disbanded. In the absence of government authority in the northeast of the country, these rebel groups have been attacking civilians. The UN estimated that there are between 1,000 and 2,000 militiamen in the region who have refused to integrate into the disarmament and reintegration process in DRC. "We recovered several localities like Tchekele, Aveba, Kabona Bunga and Tcheyi," Mputu said. These areas are between 70km and 80km south of Bunia. Tcheyi is nearly 100 km south of Bunia by road. Most of Tcheyi's 4,000 residents had fled. "We have just been informed of a population movement in the direction of Komanda," Modibo Traoré, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Ituri, said. Komanda is to 40 km west of Tcheyi. A senior Congolese army officer, who did not wish to be named, said the loss of Tcheyi was a serious blow to the FRPI because the area had provided the rebels direct access to the Ugandan border, where they received weapons and ammunition. There is no independent confirmation of the militia's supply route. In their retreat, the rebels abandoned 13 AK-47 assault rifles and some mortars. The army said the militia had retreated to Mount Hoyo, some 20km southwest of Tcheyi. This is the fourth time the army has launched operations in this area against the armed groups. In all, six army brigades (that is some 18,000 troops), backed by some 4,700 UN peacekeepers, have set about disarming all irregular armed groups in Ituri. [ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ] |
| Posted by:Steve |