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Militia Fire At French Troops

The Monitor (Kampala)
NEWS
June 16, 2003
Posted to the web June 16, 2003

By Frank Nyakairu
Kampala
French commandos patrolling Bunia in the DR Congo came under fire over the
weekend by unknown militia for the first time.
The spokesman of the French forces Capt. Frederic Solano told The Monitor
yesterday that their forces came under fire as they patrolled a village in the
suburbs of Bunia town.
"The French soldiers arrived in a village in the suburbs and people started
shooting at them. They responded with tanks and the rifles," Capt. Solano said.
The Saturday morning clash lasted 20 minutes.
"None of our soldiers was injured. After sometime we went to check the areas
where they were shooting at us from but there was no one," Capt. Solano said.
A French - led multinational emergency force started deploying in Bunia last
week to restore calm in what is now called 'Operation Artemis.'
The 1,400-strong force is mandated to shoot back in case it comes under fire.
"Our mandate is to protect the people in Bunia. If anyone gives us problems we
shall use force," Capt. Solano said.
Hundreds of people have been killed in the past two months in the violence
which has pitted Hema militia now based inside Bunia against their Lendu
enemies, who are currently mainly to the south.
Some 50,000 people are estimated to have died in the conflict between the Hema
and Lendu in the past four years.
Warnings of genocide prompted the European Union and the UN to intervene in the
gold-rich region when fighting flared in the wake of the pullout by Ugandan
troops in May.

   

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