Three Tribal Fighters Killed in Congo
By RODRIQUE NGOWI
.c The Associated Press
KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) - Troops of a French-led emergency force killed three tribal fighters during an hour-long gunbattle in northeastern Congo, a force spokesman said Saturday.
The tribal fighters were shot Friday after some 200 French, Swedish and Belgian troops - supported by helicopter gunships - came under fire when they arrived at a faction's camp, 3 miles northeast of Bunia, to confiscate heavy weapons, Col. Gerard Dubois said.
The international force suffered no casualties, Dubois said by telephone from Bunia, the capital of Congo's restive Ituri province.
However, Saba Rafiki, security chief for the Union of Congolese Patriots faction of the Hema tribe, said the international troops killed six civilians - including a woman and two tribal fighters.
``French soldiers opened fire on our troops guarding the gate into the camp without provocation and we returned fire,'' Rafiki said. ``Heavy fighting ensued and lasted for 1 1/2 hours, then we ordered our troops to withdraw.''
The international force is on a U.N.-mandated mission to stem fighting between Hema and Lendu tribal factions that has killed more than 500 people since the beginning of May. One of the force's primary goals is to demilitarize Bunia, which was controlled by about 15,000 Hema fighters before the force began deploying June 6.
The camp targeted Friday was controlled by the Union of Congolese Patriots, a Hema tribal faction known as the UPC.
``The goal of this operation was to curtail the ability of the UPC to threaten the population,'' Dubois said. ``When we arrived at the camp, the militia opened fire and we engaged them.''
The bodies of the three tribal fighters were discovered after the international force's troops secured the camp, Dubois said.
Last month, the force, which is supposed to reinforce 750 U.N. troops deployed in Bunia since April, told the tribal fighters to leave Bunia or have their weapons confiscated.
The U.N. troops' mandate permits them to fire only in self-defense, and they have not attempted to stem the fighting.
The international force, which has 1,100 troops in Bunia, is authorized to shoot to kill. Friday's shooting was the second in which the force has confirmed it has killed tribal fighters.
It is to remain in the town until Sept. 1, when a U.N. contingent from Bangladesh is supposed to be deployed in Bunia.
Resource-rich Ituri province which has been the scene of some of the worst atrocities in the nearly five-year 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 who they said were threatening regional security.
Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia sent troops to back Kabila.
The foreign troops have withdrawn, but fighting between rival rebel and tribal factions continues in eastern and northeastern Congo.
07/12/03 15:46 EDT
