KINSHASA: At least 31 people were killed when gunmen attacked an army base in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday, the military said, underlining the challenge facing a new UN intervention force in the territory.
The attackers, from one of dozens of armed groups operating in the densely forested terrain, fought a two-hour battle with soldiers at the army recruitment centre near the town of Beni in North Kivu province, Colonel Olivier Hamuli said.
“The provisional death toll is 23 Mai Mai, five recruits and three FARDC (army) soldiers, including a senior officer,” Hamuli said.
Mai Mai is the generic name given to a multitude of local armed groups, fighting for control of territory and resources ranging from farm land to mining operations.
Soldiers eventually managed to repel the attack, Hamuli said. Officers were interrogating captured rebels to find out where they came from and why they launched the assault, he added.
The attack was a reminder of the task facing an unprecedented combat force set up by the UN Security Council in March to carry out “targeted offensive operations” to neutralise armed groups in the country’s east.
Reuters
