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Fight stresses dangers in Congo

A child suffering from a gunshot wound is treated at a hospital run by Medecins sans Frontieres in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday. PHOTO: REUTERS

French troops leading an emergency force in this unstable northeastern Congolese town fired on a group of armed men looting a pharmacy, a French military spokesman said Monday.

The French patrol returned fire at the five gunmen Sunday after being fired on with semi-automatic weapons and a hand grenade, Colonel Gerard Dubois said.

The grenade did not explode, there were no casualties and the looters escaped, Dubois said.

The French troops head an international force mandated by the UN Security Council on May 30 in a bid to stem tribal fighting that has killed more than 500 people in and around Bunia since the beginning of May.

The force, which will have up to 1,500 troops, is to be deployed in the town until Sept. 1.

It is supposed to reinforce 750 UN troops deployed in Bunia since April. The UN troops' mandate permits them to fire only in self-defense, and they have not attempted to stem the fighting between rival Hema and Lendu factions.

The international force, however, is authorized to shoot to kill. One week ago, special forces shot and killed two drunken gunmen in the town who had pointed their assault rifles at a French patrol.

The emergency force began deploying June 6 in Bunia to secure the town and airport and to provide security for displaced people and aid agencies. So far, some 700 troops have deployed in Bunia, Dubois said.

On Saturday, the force commander, French Brigadier General Jean-Paul Thonier, gave the Hema tribal faction that controls Bunia 72 hours to leave the town or have their weapons taken away.

The ultimatum expired at 11am local time yesterday.

Late Monday, Thomas Lubanga, the head of the Union of Congolese Patriots, which controls Bunia, said all his fighters had withdrawn ahead of the ultimatum.

``There are no more troops left in the town. Only bodyguards for myself and other officials are around,'' Lubanga said.

In at least one northern neighborhood dominated by the Hema residents packed up their belongings and fled for the safety of the UN compound in the center of town. The residents said they feared attack from rival Lendu gunmen once the Hema fighters pulled out.

Some residents said gunmen in civilian clothes remained in Bunia, which is the capital of resource-rich Ituri province. The region has been the scene of some of the worst atrocities in the five-year-old civil war in Congo.

The war erupted in August 1998 when neighboring Rwanda and Uganda sent troops into Congo to support rebels seeking to oust then-Congolese President Laurent Kabila. They accused him of supporting insurgents from their countries whom they said were threatening regional security.

Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia sent troops to back government forces.

The foreign troops have withdrawn, but fighting between rival rebel and tribal factions continues in eastern and northern Congo.
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